Costumes Galore in Suna? Oh for Sure!
by johnsonmiranda70
Summary: What happens when you have the Sand Siblings, the Lady Sage, a few of their friends, and the whole Sand Village dressup in different costumes for the whole entire month of October for the Scary and Spooky Sand Festival? A whole lot of fun in the sun. I'm open up to costume suggestions. GaaXOC TemxShika KanXMats NaruXHina
1. From Ninjas to Espadas!

Spooky Chapter 1: From Ninjas to Espadas

It was October first, the beginning of the month long Scary and Spooky Sand Festival. It was a month long celebration where the citizens of Suna dressed up in costumes throughout the month. It was basically a month long Halloween for the people.

For the festival, Izuka invited Naruto to stay with her and the Sand Siblings. He, in turn, invited Hinata. Temari invited Shikamaru for the festival, which he reluctantly agreed to.

Currently in the Sand Siblings' residence, the group, along with Matsuri, walked through the second floor hallway to Temari's room. Her room's walls were colored gray and gold. It looked like a regular teenager's room, except that the room was decorated in fans of different sizes.

Gaara and the girls all took seats on Temari's bed while the rest of the boys took seats on the floor.

"So how are we going to do this exactly?" asked Matsuri as she played around with a stuffed weasel that was decorating Temari's bed.

"You all took showers this morning right?" asked Temari.

"I did." said Matsuri.

"We didn't." chorused everyone else.

"Why?" asked Temari.

"You woke us up way early in the morning. All we did was eat breakfast and then sat in for the costume meeting." exclaimed Kankuro as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah, right." said an embarrassed Temari as she scratched her cheek.

"Should we go in ABC order?" asked Gaara.

"We could do that after we shower. We meet back here in one hour." said Izuka as she got up from her spot on the bed.

Izuka walked towards the costume box, grabbed the clothes for her costume, and walked straight to her room.

Gaara and Kankuro grabbed their costumes and left the room to go to their respective showers. Since Shikamaru and Naruto shared one of the guest bedrooms, they snatched their costumes from the box and raced each other for first dibs on their bathroom. Hinata timidly grabbed her outfit and walked to her room for her shower. Temari grabbed her outfit and stepped into her bathroom. Matsuri was the only one left in the bedroom.

"Wait a sec. Where am I going to change." said Matsuri to no one in particular.

* * *

**An hour and fifteen minutes later**

The group was back in Temari's room all cleaned up and in their costumes. Everyone was happy with their costumes, well except one person.

Temari walked toward her bedroom door and called out into the hallway. "IZUKA, GET YOUR BUT IN HERE!"

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GET ME THE SKIMPIER COSTUME!" yelled Izuka. All the boys except Naruto blushed, knowing which outfit Izuka was talking about.

"THE COSTUME SHOP WAS ALL OUT OF THE ESPADA NELLIEL'S COSTUME! THE GREEN OUTFIT WAS ALL THEY HAD LEFT!" was Temari's response.

Izuka didn't answer.

"C'MON IZZY, WE NEED YOU TO DO THE HAIR AND MAKEUP!" yelled Temari.

"FINE AND CAN YOU STOP CALLING ME IZZY!"

Temari let out a satisfied smirk and walked back to her bed. The group heard Izuka's approaching footsteps and looked towards the doorway, where all the boys blushed and the girls all gasped.

Izuka reclined in the doorway with her arms crossed. She was dressed just like Nelliel when she returned to her adult form when she battled Nnoitra.

"Huh, you looked good in a green, ripped up dress." said Kankuro breaking the silence.

"Thanks." snorted Izuka as she took a seat on Temari's bed.

All the other boys remained silent.

"Let's start with the wigs first, shall we?" said Temari as she took up a handful of skull caps. She passed them out to everyone.

"How do you wear these?" asked Naruto, eyeing the one in his hands.

"If you have long or medium hair, wrap your hair then put the cap on. If you have short hair, just put the cap on and stuff all the stray hair strands in the cap." said Izuka as she wrapped her braids.

Naruto nodded and placed the cap on his head. Kankuro and Gaara did the same while Shikamaru took the girls' lead and wrapped his hair before putting his cap on.

"Okay then. Time for the wigs." said Temari. She went into the costume box and took out the first wig, which was a short, messy, black wig. She handed it to Izuka, who looked at Gaara.

"Ready Ulquiorra?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"Yes Nel." said Gaara playing along to the ruse.

Izuka bent down so that she was at eye level with Gaara. She placed the wig on top of his head, straightened it up, and stood back up.

Gaara looked at himself in Temari's mirror. "I look good with black hair."

"You look more emo with black hair." chorused Kankuro and Naruto.

"Shut up!" Gaara yelled.

"Hinata, you're next." said Temari as she took out an olive green colored wig. She handed it to Hinata, who placed it right on top of her head without needing Izuka's help to position it correctly.

"Here's your wig, Izzy." said Temari as she handed Izuka the long green wig.

"Stop calling me that nickname." said a seething Izuka as she put on her wig.

"My wigs next." exclaimed Kankuro as he took the brown wig from Temari and placed it on his head.

"Matsuri, here's your black bob." said Temari, handing her the wig.

"This is so going to make me look edgier." said Matsuri as she placed it on her head.

"I have a spiky, light blue wig for the sexta Espada." said Temari as she threw Naruto his wig.

"Oh good, I need my hair. I don't look sexy without it." said Naruto as he put on his blue hair.

"Here's a brown wig for Shikamaru and finally, a bright blonde wig for me." cried Temari

Shikamaru and Temari placed their wigs on their head.

"Time for makeup!" cried an excited Temari and Matsuri.

All the boys groaned in frustration.

Temari took out a large makeup case from the costume box. "Hey, we gotta look the part, through and through. Which means we have to have the appropriate look; hollow holes, espada tattoos, everything."

"We'll do it, just get it over with quickly." said Gaara in his monotone.

"Izuka, do the boys makeup first." said Temari as she handed the case to Izuka.

Izuka opened the case and the first thing she took out of it was pale white foundation. She turned to Gaara.

"Don't worry. I'm only going to do your face, hands, and the part of your chest where your hollow hole is."

Gaara nodded and sat perfectly still as Izuka started to apply makeup to his face and upper body. After a few minutes of foundation, Izuka grabbed black washable paint and painted a perfect circle on his sternum and a gothic four on the left side of his chest. She painted on some realistic eyebrows and painted his whole upper lip black. She grabbed some teal paint and painted lines from his eyes down through his cheeks. She grabbed some green contacts with slits and placed it over his jade eyes. She grabbed the broken helmet Hollow fragment from the box and placed it on his head. When she was done, she stepped away from him.

"What do you guys think of my work?" asked Izuka.

Gaara looked at himself in the mirror. He was stunned into disbelief.

Temari took a photo of Gaara with her camera. "He looks amazing."

"Really?" asked Izuka.

"Hell yeah." answered Naruto. "He looks just like the real Ulquiorra Cifer. The only difference is the insomnia rings."

"If it weren't for us being ninja, you would probably have had a great career as a makeup artist." said Shikamaru as he took a photo with his cell phone.

Izuka turned to Kankuro, Hinata, and Matsuri, who nodded their heads in approval. She finally turned to Gaara.

"What do you think Gaara?" asked Izuka as shyness suddenly took over her body.

"You did an amazing job, Nelliel-sama." said Gaara in an emotionless monotone while frowning.

"You're getting into character aren't ya?" asked Izuka.

"Indeed, Nelliel-sama" said Gaara, still frowning.

"This is great!" said Kankuro in amazement. "And the thing is we have a council meeting today. I can't wait to see the council members faces when they see Ulquiorra at the head of the meeting."

Everyone laughed imagining the same thing.

"Speaking of heads, it's your turn for makeup, Aizen." said Izuka.

"What are you going to do with me?' asked Kankuro.

Izuka placed a strand of brown hair over Kankuro's face and slicked back the rest. She went for the case and took out a pair of brown contacts for Kankuro. She put them in his eyes for him.

"You are officially finished." said Izuka with finality.

Temari took a photo of him.

"How do I look?" asked Kankuro.

"You look normal, Aizen-sama." said Gaara/Ulquiorra with a slight bow.

"What about the rest of you?" Kankuro asked the others.

"You look cute." said Matsuri.

"Average." chorused everyone else.

"Well then, no tea for all of you!" exclaimed Kankuro with a smirk.

"Oh no, no tea? Bite me!" growled Naruto, who started getting into character.

"Calm down, Grimmjow. You're not done yet. It's time for your makeup." said Izuka as she gestured.

Naruto grimaced but walked over to his sister. Izuka picked up the green paint from the makeup case and painted marks under Naruto's eyes. She took up some foundation and painted Naruto's cheeks with it, hiding his usual whiskers. She took up the right jawbone Hollow fragment and placed it on Naruto's right cheek. She took up the same black paint that she used for Gaara and painted his Hollow hole on his abdomen and the number six on his back. She took up some darker paint and painted a large scar across Naruto's torso.

"Finished." said Izuka as she put down the paint.

"You look amazing Naruto." said Hinata in stunned surprise.

"Well thank you woman." said Naruto with a maniacal smile.

"Shikamaru, get your lazy ass over here." said Izuka, imitating Lilynette.

"Hey, you're supposed to be Nel, not my sidekick Lilynette." said a tired Shikamaru.

"Shut up and don't sleep." said Izuka, completely ignoring what Shika just said.

Shikamaru whined for a while before he stopped talking. Izuka applied blue-gray contacts to his eyes before painting a realistic goatee on his chin. She painted his Hollow hole on his sternum and the number one on the back of his left hand. She took the bottom jaw Hollow fragment from the box and placed it on his neck. Izuka stepped back to admire her work.

"Can I go to sleep now?" asked Shikamaru. He didn't wait for an answer. He walked to Temari's bed and fell straight on it. Temari took a photo of him.

"Sleep, take me away." said Shikamaru in a dreamy tone of voice.

Naruto/Grimmjow cackled with laughter. Aizen/Kankuro smirked. Gaara/Ulquiorra continued to frown. The girls held back their laughter.

"Okay, all the boys are done. It's the girls turn now." said Izuka. She motioned for Matsuri to step forward.

"Ready Appache?" asked Izuka.

"What do you take me for, a deer in the headlights?" Matsuri countered with a question of her own.

"I'll take that as a yes." was all that Izuka said.

Izuka grabbed an ice blue contact and an amber contact and placed it in Matsuri's eyes. She took up some red paint and painted around her left eye. She placed the horn Hollow fragment on top of her head.

"Good I'm done." said Matsuri as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Temari took a photo.

"I guess it's my turn." said Hinata as she walked up to Izuka.

Izuka placed the hairclip-like Hollow fragment on the side of Hinata's head. She took up some pink paint and painted Sun Sung's three pink dots under her right eye.

"It's done, Hinata." said Izuka

"Pleas, for the day, call me Sun Sung." replied the olive haired girl.

"Hey, Sun Sung! Where's Mila Rose?" asked Matsuri/Apacche.

"Not here?" replied a calm Hinata/Sun Sung.

"Good! I didn't want to see her at all today." was Matsuri's reply.

"I'm ready." replied Temari as she took a photo of Hinata.

"Then let's go then, Harribel." replied Izuka.

All Izuka did for Temari was apply the jaw like Hollow fragment over Temari's mouth. Since the Hollow hole and Espada number rank of Tier were located in unmentionable places, Izuka didn't do them.

Temari crossed her arms and looked over at Hinata and Matsuri. "You too better behave yourselves at this festival."

"Yes Lady Harribel." responded Matsuri and Hinata as they bowed their heads.

"All that's left is you, Nelliel-sama." said Gaara as she walked up to his green haired friend.

"I know, Ulqui." responded Izuka as she brought the makeup case over with her to the mirror.

Izuka put on her hazel contacts and placed her skull Hollow fragment on her head. She took up some crimson paint and painted a line across her face. She took up the dark paint she used for Naruto's scar and painted a scar downward on her forehead.

"How are you going to paint on your number?" asked Naruto.

"Simple." said Izuka. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

She did some hand signs and summoned a clone of herself. The clone took up the black paint and painted the gothic three across Izuka's entire back, much to the chagrin of Kankuro and Gaara. When the clone was done, she disappeared.

"I'm done, now where is Itsygo." said Izuka as she got into character.

"Not here, my dear. He's probably out fighting Hollows somewhere." answered Kankuro as he drank some invisible tea.

"Is that everything?" asked Naruto in a tired tone.

"Not quite, Grimmjow." said Temari. She walked over to her closet and took out a bunch of fake swords in sheaths. "We're forgetting our Zanpakuto."

"How could we forget about those. We need those for our Resurreccions." said Shikamaru as he woke up from his small nap.

"Let's see. We have Mucielago for Ulquiorra (Gaara), Gamuza for Nelliel (Izuka), Kyoka Suigetsu for Aizen (Kankuro), Tiburon for me (Temari), Pantera for Grimmjow (Naruto), Cierva for Apacche (Matsuri), and Anaconda for Sun-Sung (Hinata).

"What about me?" asked Shikamaru.

"Here's your sword, but since you seal your powers in another person, you're going to have to walk around with this Lilynette doll." said Temari as she handed Shikamaru the doll and sword.

"Well, at least this doll is a lot less annoying than the real Lilynette."said Shikamaru as he placed the doll under his arm.

"C'mon guys. It's time we hit up this festival." said Naruto as he walked out the door. "Besides, the festival can't officially start until the Kazekage officially opens it." he called behind his shoulder.

Gaara's frown deepened as he remembered that he was supposed to make a speech in the main square to open up the festival.

Izuka placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll do great. If you were able to make a speech in front of thousands of shinobi back during the war, then a speech in front of your citizens shouldn't be that complicated."

"Thank you, Nelliel-sama." said Gaara as he frowned at her, remembering to stay in character.

Izuka gave him a wide smile. "You're welcome, Ulqui." she followed everyone else out the bedroom, leaving Gaara with his thoughts.

Gaara looked out the bedroom window.

"Ulquiorra, aren't you coming, my faithful servant." called Kankuro from downstairs.

"I'll be right there." replied Kankuro.

"Sunagakure's citizens, I hope you're ready for one batty festival." said Gaara to himself.

He walked out of the bedroom to join his siblings and his friends downstairs.

"Scary and Spooky Sand Festival, here we come!" said Naruto as he opened the door and leapt out the house. Everyone else followed suit, ready to enjoy the first day of the month long festival.

End of spooky chapter 1

**A/N: I was inspired by Parody 10 of my second story "A Sage, Some Siblings, and a Whole Lot of Song Parodies" so much that I have decided to write a whole new story based off of the Scary and Spooky Sand Festival I created. Throughout this story you will find the Sand Siblings, the Uzumaki twins, Matsuri, Hinata, and Shikamaru go through each day in costumes of different themes, from animals, to people, to books, to movies. Any suggestions are welcomed for costumes for the group.**

**All **_**Bleach**_** characters and references belong to the creator of **_**Bleach**_**, Tite Kubo.**

**I own nothing.**


	2. The Skit

Spooky Chapter 2: The Skit

The group of teenagers walked through the streets of Sunagakure, dressed in their Espada and Arrancar costumes, ready to take on the day.

"We are getting a lot of attention" noticed Matsuri as she looked at the groups of fellow costumed citizens.

"They are just gawking at our costumes." said Temari as she looked away.

"Shy of the limelight, my dear Harribel?" asked Kankuro as he looked at his sister.

"I think it's a nuisance, Aizen-sama." answered Temari.

"Are we there yet?" asked Shikamaru as he looked at a group of girls dressed like aliens.

"You will address Aizen-sama properly, Starrk-san." said Gaara as he frowned at a group of guys dressed like shinigami.

"Sorry. Are we there yet, Aizen-sama?" asked Shikamaru, still with his tired tone.

"The main square is just up ahead, my Primera Espada." answered Kankuro with a smirk.

"I wonder if Pesche and Dondochakka are there?" asked Izuka in a thoughtful tone.

"They're not there." said Naruto in a blunt and brash tone.

"How would you know?" asked Izuka as she looked at the fox boy turned sexta Espada.

"I just do woman!" exclaimed Naruto as he crossed his arms.

The group walked into the main square, which was already packed with people in their costumes. The square was outlined with shops and restaurants and had a fountain in its middle. There was a large stage covered by a curtain in front of the fountain. Hinata took a step away from the group.

"Wow! This place is packed." she said in a calm manner.

"A lot of people came out just to see our Ulquiorra here say his speech." said Kankuro as he placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder.

Gaara was about to respond, but another voice cut him off.

"I see the group is all here."

Everyone turned around to see Baki and Elder Mibiku walk up to them. Baki was dressed like the second Espada, Barragan Louisenbarn while Mibiku was dressed like the eighth Espada, Szayel-Aporro Grantz.

"Amazing!" said Mibiku. "Great costumes, everyone. They're very realistic."

"Thank you Szayel. It was Nelliel here who did all the makeup." responded Temari.

"Well done, Lady Sage. I mean, Nelliel." corrected Mibiku.

"Thanks you." answered Izuka.

"Are you two ready for the speech?" asked Kankuro, who was happy that he had two more subjects to rule over.

"Speech? What speech?" asked Baki, who had a confused expression on his face. Mibiku had a puzzled expression etched across his features.

"The speech Gaara supposed to make to open up the festival." answered Shikamaru, who was resting his head on Temari's shoulder.

"You guys, Gaara doesn't need to make speech." said Mibiku.

"REALLY?" asked everyone, which garnered some attention from other people in the square.

"Yeah, Gaara isn't required to say a speech. He can say a few words, do a song, or a skit to open the festival. It doesn't matter. I thought Kankuro told you guys." said Baki as he gave a skeptical look at the puppeteer.

Everyone else did the same thing, especially Gaara, who broke character to give his older brother a pissed off look.

"Sorry. That piece of info slipped my mind." said Kankuro as he scratched his head.

"Okay, so Gaara doesn't need to make the speech. What should he do instead?" asked Matsuri. "He has to get on stage in twenty minutes."

"The skit thing isn't a bad idea." said Shikamaru as he scratched his wig.

"What are we going to do for a skit?" asked Izuka and Naruto in unison. It's a twin thing.

"I have an idea." said Temari as she stroked her chin. "We're all going to get on stage, even you two." she pointed at Baki and Mibiku.

"Sure thing." the two chorused.

"Good, now here's the plan."

* * *

**Twenty minutes later**

The citizens of Suna converged at the covered stage, ready to see and hear what their Kazekage was going to say. Instead of Gaara coming to the stage, Elder Mibiku walked out from behind the curtain. He was still met with some cheers, since he was a favorite among the citizens.

"Hello citizens of Sunagakure!" exclaimed Mibiku as he talked into wireless microphone that was attached to his jacket.

"This year, we're going to open up the festival a little differently. Our Kazekage, has decided to do a skit instead of the usual opening speech."

Everyone cheered at the news.

"Lord Gaara will be joined by his siblings, Matsuri, the Lady Sage, her twin brother, their two friends from Konoha, Baki, and me."

Everyone continued to cheer.

"So without further ado, I present to you "A Random Day in Hueco Mundo"

Everyone clapped and cheered for joy as Mibiku exited stage left. They cheered even louder as the curtain began to rescind, revealing a small, white couch in the middle of the stage. Soon, Kankuro walked onstage carrying a cup of tea. Realizing the fact that he was dressed like Aizen, the crowd booed and cheered.

Kankuro looked at his watch and sat on the couch. "Ah, it's time for tea."

Some members of the crowd chuckled. Before Aizen could take a sip of his tea, he was interrupted by a large shout.

"AIZENNNNNNNNNNN!" yelled a loud, gruff voice from off the stage.

The crowd began to whisper among themselves, trying to figure out whose voice it could belong to.

"Don't worry, folks. I know who it is." said Kankuro to the crowd. He turned to his right. "What is the matter, Barragan?"

Baki stomped onstage towards the couch. Everyone chuckled at first glance. Baki had the look down pat of Barragan Louisenbarn, but his height made him look funny.

Baki stopped right at Kankuro's side and stared him down in the eye. Taking that as a notion to speak first, Kankuro put his tea on the couch and stood up to address him.

"Are you still mad that I gave Yammy and Starrk higher ranks than you?" he asked.

Baki instantly grabbed Kankuro's jacket and hoisted him off his feet, which earned him some gasps from the mostly female audience.

"I suggest you let go of my jacket or else there will be severe consequences." said Kankuro as he stared back at Baki. Baki did what he was told.

"Why the hell did you rank those two miscreants higher than me?" asked Barragan as he crossed his arms and sat down hard on the couch, barely disturbing the tea next to him.

Kankuro crossed his arms and stared down his subordinate. "I ranked Yammy the zero Espada because unlike you, his power can grow even in his true form. I ranked Starrk as the Primera Espada because his power is so vast that he has to seal it into another life form."

"But Yammy is just a giant mass of fat while Starrk is a lazy bum who sleeps all day!" Baki protested.

"Who are you calling a lazy bum who sleeps all day?" asked Shikamaru (Starrk) as he walked in from stage left. He moved Kankuro's tea out the way and took the seat at the opposite end of the couch.

"I'm calling you a lazy bum, you rancid wolf. You don't deserve to be in my presence!" exclaimed Baki as he looked away from the Primera Espada.

"Barragan, you are acting like a child. That's not the behavior I expect from the second Espada." answered Kankuro coldly.

Everyone made oohing sounds as Baki showed a slightly embarrassed face to the crowd. Kankuro turned to Shikamaru. "Speaking of other life forms, where is your partner, Lilynette Gingerback?"

"She's out bothering Yammy." said Shikamaru tiredly as he started to nod off into dreamland.

"Of course she is." said Baki sarcastically.

"I hope you're not talking about me." said Temari as she walked on stage with Matsuri and Hinata walking up behind her.

The crowd, well the male half of it, cheered loudly as the three girls appeared on stage. Temari looked at Aizen.

"Don't worry, my dear Harribel, we were not talking about you or you're two Fraccion." said Kankuro as he took a sip of his tea.

"We were talking about Lilynette." said Shikamaru lazily from the couch.

"Of course." said Temari as she observed the lazy Espada on the couch.

"Uh oh." said Matsuri as she looked right behind her. Hinata did the same and a worried expression appeared on her features.

"What is it you two?" asked Temari as she looked at her fellow females.

"Grimmjow is coming this way, my lady, and he doesn't look happy." replied Hinata as she covered half her face with her sleeve.

"Oh boy, the blue one is coming. Is he ever happy?" said Baki as he reclined in his seat.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" asked Shikamaru.

"SHUT UP YOU FOOL!" screamed Baki. The crowd laughed.

Naruto walked on stage with his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face. The crowd gave him a huge round of applause since most of them recognized him from the time he saved Gaara from the Akatsuki.

Naruto took a seat between Shikamaru and Baki. Shikamaru turned to the blue haired Espada.

"What's wrong?" he asked in slight concerned. "You look ready to go on a rampage."

"I ran into Szayel just a minute ago. He's on one of his experiment highs again and wanted to test his latest invention on me." said Naruto angrily.

"Oh kami. It's never good when Szayel's on one of his experiment highs. The last time he was on one, Starrk was on the toilet for a whole week." said Matsuri out of agony.

"Don't remind me Apacche. His experiment was some potion he whipped up to see if it could make lazy people eager to work and be productive. All it did was making sure I was producing crap out of my ass for a whole seven days." replied Shikamaru with a scarred look on his face, which made the crowd instantly laugh.

"It didn't help the fact that Grimmjow and Lilynette helped to sneak the potion into your food." said Kankuro as he finished his tea.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Shikamaru as he gave Naruto a deadly glare.

"HEY MAN, I WAS FREAKING CURIOUS IF IT WOULD WORK! BESIDES, LILYNETTE WAS THE LEADER OF THE SCHEME!" screamed Naruto in defense as held out his hands in defeat. He knew as the sixth Espada that it would be a bad idea for him to go up against the Primera Espada, especially when he's angry.

Before Shikamaru could attack him, approaching footsteps were heard from stage left.

"What's going on here?" said the feminine voice.

The crowd cheered loudly as Izuka appeared on stage, especially the guys when they saw who Izuka was portraying.

"What is going on in here?" asked Izuka as Nelliel, as she walked over to Kankuro.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" choked out Naruto as he was being strangled by Shikamaru. The crowd was dying with laughter.

"I invited her in." said an emotionless monotone. Gaara walked up from stage left, and was rewarded with loud shouts of joy from the crowd.

"Why?" asked Baki as he stared down Izuka.

"I thought she would be useful to Aizen-sama's cause." replied Gaara.

"Very good idea Ulquiorra." said Kankuro. He turned to Izuka. "It's been a while Nelliel. How are you?"

"Bitter." was all Izuka said.

"Why?" asked Kankuro.

"Why don't you ask Nnoitra." answered Izuka as she eyed her former leader.

"What did he do?" asked Temari

"He basically paved your way to the position of third Espada." replied Izuka. Temari nodded in understanding.

"By the way, where is the walking satellite dish?" asked Shikamaru as he released his hold on Naruto.

"Right here." said Mibiku as he entered from stage right, holding a green potion in his left hand and a praying mantis in his right.

"Don't play games with us, Szayel. Where's the walking spoon?" asked Baki as he got up from his seat.

"He's right here." answered Mibiku as he wagged the mantis in Baki's face. Baki realized he was telling the truth when he saw that the praying mantis had a hole for his left eye.

"What did you do to him?" asked Gaara in his emotionless monotone. Some girls in the crowd swooned at the sound of his voice.

"I used my concoction here to turn him into a praying mantis. You see, all I did was pour a little on him and boom; he turned into a praying mantis.

"So you're saying, if we get any of this stuff on us, we'll revert back into animals." asked Hinata.

"Exactly Sun Sung" said Mibiku.

"That's crazy!" yelled Shikamaru as he eyed the crazed elder in disguise.

"You want to be my next subject Starrk?" asked Mibiku.

"Hell no! Not again!" yelled Shikamaru. He jumped off the couch and exited stage left.

"What about you Grimmjow?" asked Mibiku.

"If you get near me with that, I will personally murder you while you sleep." threatened Naruto. He got off the couch and bumped shoulders with Mibiku before leaving the stage.

"What about you ladies?" he asked the girls.

"No." said Temari as she left the stage. Hinata and Matsuri followed after her.

"I'm happy because of Nnoitra's predicament, but I happily decline your offer." said Izuka as she walked off stage, but before she dissapeared behind the screen, she walked over to Mibiku, grabbed the praying mantis out of his hand, slammed it to the ground, and stomped it to death.

"DIE YOU EPITOME OF DOUCHEBAGERY!" Izuka shouted in anger. The crowed cheered as Izuka stomped the poor mantis out. After a few more seconds of stomping, she raised her head up and looked at her cast mates scared faces. She turned to the audience, who had suddenly fell silent.

"I feel so much better!" Izuka said with a big smile. The audienced dropped dead with laughter.

"Bye, bye, boys." sais Izuka as made her way off stage.

Mibiku shook away his scared emotions and turned to Baki, but he already left the stage.

"Wow. He may be old, but he sure is fast."

He turned to Gaara.

"Ulquorra, would you like to be reverted back into a bat?" asked Mibiku.

"If I was turned into a bat, I wouldn't be able to do my duties properly. I would be reduced to uselessness. I represent emptiness, not uselessness. I decline the invitation. If you excuse me, I have an errand to run."

Gaara did a slight bow to Kankuro before leaving the stage.

Mibiku sighed in defeat. "Looks like I'll have to try it on Yammy."

He slumped his shoulders and walked off stage.

Kankuro was the only one on stage. He turned to the crowd and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll just go and make some more tea." he said. He bowed to the crowd and walked off stage. The crowd cheered and clapped as the curtains covered the stage.

Mibiku walked out on stage to address the crowd.

"I hope you all liked the performance. It's time I introduced you all to the cast of this production."

The crowd cheered, encouraging him to go on.

"First, coming from Konoha, please welcome Cyan Sun Sung, played by Hinata Hyuga."

The crowd cheered as Hinata walked on stage. She did a slight bow, still with her sleeve in her face, before walking over to the other side of the platform.

"Also coming from Konoha, please give a Suna welcome for Coyote Starrk, played by Shikamaru Nara!" yelled Mibiku.

Shikamaru tiredly walked onstage, acknowledged the crowd, and went over to Hinata and rested his head on her shoulder. The crowd got a good chuckle out of that one.

"Next we have Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, played by Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto walked on stage, maniacally laughed, and walked over to Hinata and Shikamaru. He shook his head in disappointment at Shikamaru.

"You are one lazy bum." scolded Naruto.

"I'm a bum and I'm proud of it!" yelled Shikamaru in defiance. The crowd cheered, taking the Primera Espada's side.

"Next, please welcome their leader, Sosuke Aizen, played by the one and only Kankuro Sabaku." yelled Mibiku.

Kankuro waked on stage to cheers and boos. He gave a menacing glare to the crowd.

"No tea for all of you miserable subordinates!" exclaimed Kankuro to the crowd.

"WE DON'T WANT IT!" yelled the crowd in return. Kankuro walked over to the others in an "I'm better than you and way more superior to you." kind of way.

"Up next, please welcome to the stage Baki, who played our second Espada, Barragan Luisenbarn." said Mibiku.

Baki walked up and just walked over to the others, not even acknowledging the crowd, which garnered some boos from the crowd.

"Wow, isn't he a pompous brat!" exclaimed Mibiku. Everyone laughed, except Baki, who gave Mibiku a death glare.

"Up next, please welcome Emilou Appache, played by our very own Matsuri!" cried Mibiku.

Matsuri jumped onstage and acknowledged the crowd. She walked over to the others and took her position next to them.

"She's probably one of the most sensible Espada members. Please welcome onto the stage Tier Harribel, played by Temari Sabaku!" yelled Mibiku.

Temari walked on stage to a lot of cheers, the loudest coming from the men in the audience for her slightly revealing costume. She walked over to where Mibiku was standing and took the microphone from him.

"Thank you for the intro Szayel, but can I at least hear from you people some cheers for our wonderful eighth Espada, played by Elder Mibiku." said Temari to the crowd.

The crowd answered in response, clapping and cheering for the pink-wigged elder.

"Why thank you. You're too kind, all of you." said Mibiku as he wiped away his imaginary tears with his sleeves.

Temari handed Mibiku back the microphone and walked over to the others. Mibiku adjusted his glasses and went back to addressing the crowd.

"I have already introduced to you guys most of the cast members, but it appears I'm missing two of them. I bet you guys can guess who they are."

The crowd roared in excitement. The male members of the audience started to chant Izuka's name while the female members started chanting Gaara's.

"Okay" said Mibiku "Let's start with the lady shall we? Please welcome up Nelliel Tu Odelschwank, played by our resident Konoha export, the Lady Sage herself, Izuka Uzumaki!"

The crowd roared with excitement as Izuka made her way onto the stage. The girls greeted her with smiles and cheers. The males greeted her with cat calls and wolf whistles. Izuka blushed red as she heard the comments from the audience.

She walked over to Mibiku at the center of the stage.

"Lady Sage, you make a very convincing former third Espada." commented Mibiku.

"Why thank you, Pink Boy." said Izuka in a cheery tone that sounded similar to the real Nel's and a smile on her face.

Mibiku gave her a stunned face, which earned him a lot of laughs from the crowd. Izuka waved her hand in front of Mibiku's face, but he was still frozen in place. Izuka turned to the crowd, shrugged, and walked over to the others. More laughs from the crowd ensued.

Mibiku continued to stay frozen in place. When Naruto noticed this, he grabbed the Lilynette doll from Shikamaru's pocket and threw it straight at Mibiku's head. The doll soon fell into the sea of audience members.

"LILYNETTE!" screamed Shikamaru. The crowd went silent when they heard him scream.

Shikamaru stared wide-eyed as the crowd gave him curious looks.

"Eh, she deserves it." shrugged Shikamaru. The crowd broke into hysterics.

After a few more seconds of stillness, Mibiku finally unfroze from his position. "Sorry guys, dramatic effect." he said while emphasizing with his hands. Everyone laughed, except Naruto who gave him a deadpan look.

"Finally, please shout to your hearts' content for this man. Please welcome on to the stage Ulquiorra Cifer, played by our favorite Kazekage, Gaara Sabaku." yelled Mibiku at the top of his lungs.

The crowd roared in excitement as Gaara walked onto the stage. He waved to acknowledge the crowd, which caused some girls in the front to faint in pleasure. Gaara walked over to Mibiku and took the microphone from him.

"Thank you Szayel for the introductions. "said Gaara. Mibiku did a slight bow and walked over to the others. Gaara turned his attention to the crowd.

"I hope you all enjoy the festival as much as my friends, family, and I will. I can't wait to see what creative costumes you all come up with. Plus, there will be costume contests held everyday by the Suna Times at their offices. All who want to participate just need to go over to their building to sign up." said Gaara in his empty monotone.

The crowds continued to cheer.

"I now declare this year's Spooky and Sand Festival now open!" he continued, putting the teeniest bit of emotion in his voice.

The crowd cheered and applauded and started to leave the square. Gaara walked off the stage to join the others.

"Well that wasn't so hard." said Kankuro as he crossed his arms.

Gaara gave him an empty glare.

"C'mon guys, no hostility. We can all enjoy the festival after we attend the council meeting." said Mibiku in a cheery tone of voice.

"That's right. By the way, what are you guys going to do while we're at the council meeting?" asked Izuka as she turned to Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Matsuri.

"I'm going to show them all around." said Matsuri as she struck a pose.

"Just don't get into any trouble." exclaimed Temari as she gave Matsuri a stern look.

"Yes, Lady Harribel!" exclaimed Matsuri as she saluted her.

"Don't do that." said Temari

"We'll meet up at Miyure's for lunch at one o'clock." said Gaara as he started to walk towards the Kazekage building.

"Hey! I'm you're leader! You're supposed to follow me!" yelled Kankuro as ran after Gaara.

"No trouble, you four!" exclaimed Temari. She gave each of them a stern look before following her brothers, Baki, and Mibiku.

Izuka turned to the group. "See you guys later!" she ran right after the others.

Naruto looked over at Shikamaru, Hinata, and Matsuri. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Want to cause some mayhem?" asked Matsuri. The others gave her stunned looks.

"We would be disobeying Harribel-sama's orders." said Hinata behind her sleeve.

"Technically, Starrk's in charge since he's the first Espada and he out ranks Lady Harribel." said Matsuri with a smirk.

"That's true." said Naruto. "What should we do Starrk?"

Shikamaru put his hand on his chin for thought. He then looked at the group.

"Let's cause some mayhem AFTER we find Lilynette."

"ALRIGHT!" chorused Matsuri and Naruto. Hinata only nodded her head.

The group walked further into the main square, now in search for Starrk's missing half.

End of Spooky chapter 2.

**A/N: This is definitely the longest chapter I ever wrote. Oh boy, what's going to happen at the council meeting? What mayhem will ensue with Naruto and the others? You'll just have to read to find out. By the way, the idea for the line epitome of douchebagery came from an old middle school friend of mine.**

**All Bleach references and character belong to their creator Mr. Tite Kubo.**

**Birthday Shout outs: Happy belated birthday Sai, 11/25, and Rock Lee, 11/27, from Naruto!**


	3. Lost Dolls and a Council Meeting

Spooky Chapter 3: Lost Dolls and a Council Meeting

Shikamaru, Naruto, Matsuri, and Hinata were walking through Suna's main square in search of Shikamaru's missing Lilynette doll, avoiding the crowds along the way.

"Aw man!" whined Matsuri. "Grimmjow, it's your fault that we have to look for Lilynette. Couldn't you have found something else besides the doll to through at Szayel's head?"

Naruto shrugged. "Lilynette was the closest thing to me to use. I had to do something to get Szayel unfrozen."

"C'mon guys, you shouldn't be complaining at a time like this." said Hinata, her sleeve still covering her face.

"Oh shut up Sun Sung!" yelled Matsuri in frustration.

"Cut the crap, Apacche!" complained Shikamaru. "We have to look for Lilynette!"

"Fine" said Matsuri in defeat as she pouted at the Primera Espada.

"Hey guys! I think I found her." said Naruto as he looked out into the distance.

Shikamaru lazily ran up to Naruto. "Great Grimmjow, where is she?"

"Over there being manhandled by a bunch of kids." said Naruto as he pointed to a group of kids playing with the Lilynette doll outside of an ice-cream shop.

"There has to be at least ten of them." said Hinata as she walked up to the two Espadas.

"We can take 'em." said Matsuri as she punched her hand.

"We're going to talk to them first to see if we can get Lilynette back." said Shikamaru.

"Aw man. That's no fun!" whined Naruto.

"You two love violence don't you?" asked Shikamaru.

"Hello." said a sarcastic Naruto. "My aspect of death is destruction. The proper question is do I not like violence?"

"Good point." said Shikamaru. He turned his attention to Matsuri.

"And you?" he asked her.

"I absolutely have no reason." said Matsuri with finality.

"Okay then, let's go." said Shikamaru. He started to walk over to the group of kids. He was followed by Naruto, Matsuri, and then finally Hinata, who brought up the rear.

"_I am definetly not sure about this."_ thought Hinata as she followed the others.

* * *

**At the Kazekage tower**

Izuka, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Mibiku, and Baki were sitting at the large mahogany table of the meeting room, joined by the rest of the council members in their costumes. They were dressed as either popular sci-fi characters or mythical creatures.

"What is on the agenda for this meeting Barragan?" asked Kankuro as he sipped some tea that he got from the next door break room.

Everyone gave him questioning looks.

"What?" he asked as he put down his tea cup.

"You can just be yourself during the meeting Kankuro." said Temari as she raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"Oh really?" asked Kankuro.

Some of the council members shook their heads yes.

"Oh." he responded in return. He also pushed his tea away from him a few inches.

"Baki?" asked Gaara as he turned to the man.

"There is only one thing to discuss today for this meeting and that has been our trading with Kirigakure." said Baki to the group.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Bandits." said Baki bluntly.

"Bandits have been causing the problem?" asked Temari.

Baki shook his head yes. "The trade routes between Suna and Kiri have been bombarded by bandits for the past month. Trade convoys have been attacked and ransacked and some of our men have been killed at the hand of these bandits."

"What about Kiri?" asked Mibiku.

"It's the same thing with their convoys." answered Baki.

"What about the trade routes with the other shinobi lands?" asked Izuka.

"They're all normal. No bandit activity has been reported along those routes. It seems these bandits are specifically targeting our routes with Kiri." said Baki. "I wonder why."

"This is bad." said Kankuro. "Kirigakure is a very important trade partner of Suna. We can't let these bandits get away with it."

Most of the council members whispered in agreement with Kankuro. Izuka snuck a glance at Gaara, who had closed his eyes in deep concentration.

"_What's the plan, Lord Kazekage?"_ she telecommunicated with her mind.

Gaara looked to his right at the Lady Sage, who gave him a questioning look. He then turned his attention to the rest of the council members, who were still whispering with each other.

"Baki?" called Gaara as he tried to get the older man's attention. Baki stopped his whispering to look at the young Kazekage.

"Yes?" asked Baki as he eyed Gaara.

"Have more guards travel with the convoys. We have no idea what the possible reason is for these bandits to attack ours' and Kiri's convoys. Have the guards be at high alert at all times. Also, tell them to gather any Intel in what these bandits could possibly be planning." commanded Gaara.

"I'll get on that right away my Lord." said Baki in return.

"Does anyone else have any comments, questions, or suggestions?" asked Gaara as he looked around the table.

Everyone shook their heads no.

"I see, meeting adjourned." said Gaara with finality.

Everyone nodded their heads, got up from their seats, and started to make their way out of the room. Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and Izuka were the last to leave.

"I wonder what those bandits could be up to." said Izuka as the group started to make their way down the hallway.

"Who knows? All we can do is wait until we get the info we need." said Temari as she started to walk next to Izuka.

"This problem is troublesome." added Gaara.

"Isn't that Shikamaru's catchphrase?" asked Kankuro as he walked behind the three.

"Yes, yes it is, Aizen-sama." responded Temari with a chuckle.

"Speaking of Shikamaru, shouldn't we be making our way to Miyure's to meet up with the others? It's almost one." said Izuka as she looked at the time on a clock on the side of the wall.

"You're right Nelliel-san. We better get going." said Gaara.

"Well then, we have no time to waste." said Kankuro. "Follow me, my Espada." said Kankuro as he opened the door to the staircase that led to the first floor.

Kankuro took a misstep, tripped, and started to fall down the tall staircase all the way down to the first floor.

Izuka, Gaara, and Temari all gave each other surprised looks.

"Aww, Aizen tripped and fell down the stairs." said Izuka breaking the silence.

"Should have brought my camera." said Temari.

She followed the two younger teens down the staircase, where they found Kankuro bent over backwards at the bottom of the staircase.

The three of them walked over Kankuro's bruised form the door up ahead. Kankuro jumped up from his position on the ground and walked after them.

"And you guys don't even help me up? Some faithful Espada you are." complained Kankuro.

"Technically, I don't work for you anymore." said Izuka as she mimicked Nelliel's voice.

"I'll give you that, Nelliel. You two, on the other hand, have no reason not to help your leader." he says as he turns to his siblings.

"Our apologies, Aizen-sama." says Gaara as he reverted back into the act.

"Good now let's get to Miyure's shall we?"

Gaara opened and held the door for the others to walk through. The four walked down the short steps to the street and walked west for Miyure's restaurant.

* * *

**Back with Shikamaru and the others**

Hinata, Matsuri, Shikamaru, and Naruto walked over to the group of about 10 kids near Miko's Ice Cream Parlor. The kids were all playing a game of Hot Potato with the Lilynette doll.

"HEY YOU KIDS! STOP THROWING LILYNETTE LIKE A PIECE OF TRASH!" screamed Naruto as the group finally stopped in front of the kids.

"Hey! You're the guys from the skit from earlier!" exclaimed a little girl with her brown hair in a ponytail who was currently holding the Lilynette doll.

"Yes, that was us." said a calm Hinata as she finally took her sleeve from her face.

"You guys know the Lady Sage and the Kazekage!" said a boy with a bucktooth smile.

"Yeah we do." said a tired Matsuri as she waved her hand.

"Can I get that Lilynette doll back? It wasn't supposed to go into the audience and I need it to complete my costume." asked Shikamaru as he scratched his hair. He wasn't used to wearing wigs.

"Sure thing." said the girl with the ponytail. "But you have to answer a few of our questions."

"These questions are all about how we know the Kazekage and the Lady Sage and are association with them, isn't it?" asked Matsuri as she eyed the kids.

"Yep." answered a girl with square-shaped glasses.

"Okay, ask away. We have to meet with them in a few minutes anyway." said Naruto as he gave the kids a sarcastic smirk.

"How do you guys know the Lady Sage and the Kazakage?" asked the bucktoothed boy.

It was Hinata who answered. "We met the Kazekage and his siblings at the Chunnin Exams in the Leaf three years ago. Grimmjow here is the Lady Sage's twin brother."

"Really?" asked the glasses girl.

"Yep." answered Naruto. "I'm older than her by seven minutes."

"I thought it was five minutes?" mumbled Matsuri under her breath.

"Question 2: What is the relationship status of the Lady Sage, the Kazekage, and his siblings?" asked the ponytailed girl.

"Why do you want to know that?" asked Hinata.

"Just curious." answered the ponytailed girl.

Matsuri answered this one. "Starrk here is dating Temari."

Shikamaru blushed.

"I'm dating Kankuro and thanks to that YouTube video that Kankuro posted online for the song parody series the Lady Sage and the Sand Siblings started a few weeks ago, the whole world basically knows that the Lady Sage and the Kazekage are in a relationship with each other."

"That's one big power couple." said a boy with a buzz cut.

"You're telling me." said Shikamaru sarcastically as his blush faded.

"And finally question 3: Whose idea was it for the Espada costumes?" asked the glasses girl.

"It was all Temari's idea." said Shikamaru. "She's in charge of all our costumes for the festival while Izuka is in charge of our costume makeup."

"So that's why Naruto's wearing eyeliner?" asked the buzz cut boy.

"SHUT UP YOU BRAT!" yelled Naruto out of annoyance.

"Can we have Lilynette back?" asked Shikamaru.

"Since you answered our questions, sure." said ponytails as she gave the doll back to Shikamaru.

_Reunited and it feels so good_

Naruto and some of the little kids had the same idea as they started to sing the lyrics of the song.

"SHUT UP DAMMIT!" yelled an annoyed Shikamaru.

"Go take a nap Starrk!" yelled Naruto in return.

"Can you boys stop yelling? We have to meet up with the others!" yelled Matsuri.

The boys turned to her. "Sorry."

Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru followed Matsuri out of the square and into the crowded street, after they said their thanks and good byes to the kids. They walked down the street for a few blocks before they finally stopped at Miyure's restaurant.

Miyure's restaurant was the largest and one of the most exclusive restaurants in all of Sunagakure. It looked just like the buildings on either side of it except it had a blue awning with the word Miyure's in fancy script. The group walked in and walked to the maître d's podium.

"Hello Shizan." said Matsuri as she smiled at the young man with sandy blond hair and green eyes.

"Hey Matsuri, everybody, welcome to Miyure's." said Shizan as he organized some menus at his podium.

"Are the others here yet?" asked Hinata as she placed her sleeve back on her face.

"They just walked in twenty minutes ago. They're at their usual booth." answered Shizan.

"Don't bother moving Shizan. We know the way." said Matsuri.

She walked deeper into the restaurant with Shikamaru, Hinata, and Naruto at her heels. The group walked through the smoking area, then the non-smoking area, until finally they reached the area in the restaurant that held all the booths. The group walked to the western most booth to find Temari, Kankuro, Izuka, and Gaara sitting around the table.

"Where have you been? You're late!" exclaimed Kankuro as the four of them took their seats at the table.

"We had to find Lilynette." said Naruto as he took his seat next to his sister. Hinata took her seat next to him. Shikamaru took his seat next to Temari and Matsuri slid in after him to take her seat.

"Where did you find her Starrk?" asked Gaara as he took a sip of water from his glass.

"Being thrown around like the rag doll she is by a group of kids outside Miko's Ice Cream Parlor." said Naruto as he looked through the menu.

"Shut up Grimmjow!" said Shikamaru.

"Make me." said Naruto as he gave Shikamaru a sadistic grin that the real Grimmjow would be proud of.

"Hey, if you guys keep arguing, I won't tell you who we would be dressing up as tomorrow." said Temari as she closed her menu.

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at her. "You do know we were just acting right?" asked Shikamaru.

"Oh you were? Well then, you guys are certainly great actors?" said Temari as she gave them a sheepish look.

Izuka, Gaara, and Kankuro gave Temari deadpans.

"What is the theme for tomorrow Harribel-san?" asked Gaara as he struggled to stay in character.

"Since we are dressed up as the Bleach bad guys today, we are going to dress up as the Bleach good guys tomorrow."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" asked Izuka as she gave her fellow Espada a questioning look.

"Yep. Tomorrow, we are going to dress up as members of the Gotei 13 and/or their allies." said Temari.

"So people like Uryuu and Chad and the Visords are included?" asked Kankuro.

"Indeed Aizen-sama." answered Temari.

"I think that's a great idea!" exclaimed Matsuri. "Just one thing Lady Harribel."

"What is it, Apacche?" asked Temari.

"Do not make dress up as Orihime Inoue!"

End of Chapter 3

**A/N: Who is going to be who? Find out in chapter 4! Please review and vote on poll. If you want to read about the song parody series and how Izuka ang Gaara's relationship started, please read my other story "A Sage, Some Siblings, and a Whole lot of Song Parodies.". I promise if you read it, you won't regret it. :)**

**All Bleach characters and references belong to its creator, Tite Kubo!**

**Birthday Shout outs: Happy Birthday Menoly Mallia from Bleach. Her birthday is today, December 7. If you don't remember her, she is the blond girl who was Aizen's attendant along with Loly Aivirnne who had her body blasted by Grimmjow's cero. Enjoy.**


	4. From Ninjas to Shinigami

Spooky Chapter 4: From Ninjas to Shinigami

It was October 2, the second day of the month long Scary and Spooky Sand Festival, And in the Sand Siblings' residence, it was Dress up Like a Shinigami from Bleach Day.

Currently, everyone was gathered in the living room of the residence. Temari was standing up with a clipboard in her hands and a costume box filled with makeup, wigs, and of course, the costumes themselves at her side. Everyone else were sitting on the couches, patiently waiting to find out who would be who.

"Like I did yesterday, I'm going in ABC order." says Temari to the group.

"Oh great. That means I'm first again." says a sarcastic Gaara, who was sitting in one of the recliners.

"That's right little brother." says Temari with a smirk. She flips a page over on her clipboard.

"Gaara, the shinigami from Bleach that you will portray will be 10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Why him?" asks Kankuro. "I always thought he would make a good Izuru Kira. You know, the lieutenant from the 3rd Division."

"I thought that too, but then I realized that Gaara and Toshiro had many things in common." says Temari.

"Like what?" asks Naruto as tries to get himself comfortable on the couch.

"Well, they both have somewhat cold personalities, they get severely annoyed by some of the people around them, they are young in age, but high in status, and they are very protective of certain girls that are close to them."

At the last part, Temari looked at Izuka. Izuka instantly started to blush as soon as everybody else started to stare at her. Gaara could only look on in embarrassment as his sand armor hid his blush.

"Gaara's not that protective of my sister, is he?" asks Naruto, who suddenly broke the silence.

"Not yet he isn't." says Kankuro in answer.

"Let's move on shall we?" asks Hinata.

"That's probably for the best." says Shikamaru.

"Okay then." says Temari. "Hinata, you're next. You will be Retsu Unohana, the captain of the 4th Division."

"Okay." says Hinata a tad timidly.

"Izuka, you will portray Rukia Kuchiki's zanpakutou, Sode no Shirayuki."

"That makes sense since Izuka's one of the hottest girls in all of Suna." says Kankuro with a shrug and a sly smirk.

Everyone gave him curious looks, except Gaara and Naruto, who gives him murderous looks.

"What?" asks Kankuro.

"Nothing, let's just forget about what you just said." says Izuka as deep red blush appears across her cheeks.

"Anyway, Kankuro, you will be Lieutenant Renji Abarai of the Sixth Division." says Temari as she writes on her clipboard.

"HELL YES! That was so who I wanted to portray!" exclaims an excited Kankuro.

"Matsuri, you will be Rukia Kuchiki, Lieutenant of the 13th Division."

"I'll do her justice. I'm just glad that I'm not portraying Momo Hinamori. She gets almost killed too many times." whined Matsuri.

"That is so true." says Izuka in agreement.

"Naruto, you will be Hyourinmaru in his humanoid form." says Temari.

"Wait a second! Does that mean I have to refer to Gaara as "Master"?" asks Naruto.

"Since Gaara's going to be Toshiro and you will be Hyourinmaru, you guys are technically partners. The thing is Hyourinmaru always refers to Toshiro as master." says Temari with a shrug.

"In other words, that means yes Naruto." says Izuka as she gives Naruto a matter-of-fact look.

"Aw man." whined Naruto.

"Hey! You're portraying the most powerful ice type zanpakutou. Don't complain." says Shikamaru from his sprawled position on the floor.

"Good point." returns Naruto in defeat.

"Shikamaru, you will be Shunsui Kyoraku, the Captain of the 8th Division."

"Shikamaru has to wear a pink kimono!" yells Kankuro and Naruto in unison.

"Says the guys who are portraying a zanpakutou who wears purple and a lieutenant whose hair resembles a red pineapple." snaps Shikamaru.

"Technically, your normal hair already looks like a pineapple." says Hinata out of the blue.

The room suddenly erupts in laughter as Shikamaru gives Hinata a stunned look.

"Good one Hinata!" says Matsuri as she wipes a tear from her eye.

"Finally, I'm going to be Rangiku Matsumoto, the lieutenant of the 10th Division." says Temari in between giggles.

"You're only picking her for yourself because you want to annoy the hell out of me without that many consequences being put on you!" exclaims Gaara as soon as the laughing settled down.

"That's right little brother. Now everybody, get your assigned costume in the box and meet back here in the living room in half an hour."

Everybody got up on their feet, grabbed their respective costumes from the box, and left the room to change.

* * *

**Thirty minutes later**

Everybody re-gathered in the living room dressed in their respective costumes. Temari turned to Izuka.

"Izuka, work your makeup magic." Temari commanded.

"Wait a sec, sis. Check this out." says Kankuro as he looks through the newspaper.

"What is it Kankuro?" asks Gaara as he gives his brother a quizzical look.

"The Suna Times is running a poll throughout the month. And it's all about us." says Kankuro.

"What do you mean?" asks Matsuri.

"Each day the Suna Times is going to run a poll on who wears the best costume among the eight of us."

"Basically, they are letting the people vote on which person wears the best costume and it's going to run everyday throughout the rest of the month." says an incredulous Shikamaru.

"That's right. Check out yesterday's results." says Kankuro as he places the open newspaper on the living room coffee table.

The results were as follows: Izuka as Nelliel got 31% of the vote, Gaara as Ulquiorra got 29%, Shikamaru as Starrk got 20%, Naruto as Grimmjow got 10%, Temari as Harribel and Hinata as Sun Sung, and Matsuri as Apacche all got 6%, while Kankuro as Aizen received 2% of the vote.

"Wow! I beat Gaara by two points." says Izuka breaking the silence.

"Damn you all! I only got two percent of the vote." complained Kankuro.

"It's simple really. No one gives a rat's ass about Aizen." says Gaara bluntly to his brother.

"Why I never." says an appalled Kankuro as he turns his back to the group.

"Apparently, a lot of people liked Shikamaru's portrayal of Starrk." says Matsuri.

"I feel so loved." says Shikamaru as Temari gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"That reminds me." says Kankuro as he turns back to the group. "Remember the skit we did yesterday in the square."

Everybody nodded their heads yes.

"Why don't we do a skit in our costumes for each day of the festival. We can upload them on YouTube as a short series." continued Kankuro.

"That's actually not a bad idea." says Temari in a thoughtful tone.

"It could be fun." added Naruto.

"Why not?" added Matsuri.

Temari turned her head to Shikamru, Izuka, and Gaara, who all nodded their heads in agreement.

"It couldn't hurt." says Gaara with a sigh.

"Alright then, we'll do our first skit for YouTube later tonight. For now, let get our hair and makeup done. Izuka, if you may?" says Temari as she gestures to the costume the box.

Izuka walks toward the costume box, her white kimono swishing with every step. When she reaches the box, she takes out a short and spiky white wig.

"I guess that's for me." says Gaara as he walks over to Izuka. He takes out a skull cap from the box and places it over his hair. Izuka then helps him put the wig on his head.

Izuka then reaches into the box and takes out a small case. She opens it to reveal a pair of turquoise colored contacts.

"Don't hurt yourself." Izuka warns as she gives Gaara the contacts.

"Who do you think I am, a child?" snaps Gaara. "Don't answer that."

"I won't." says Izuka. She then reaches into the box and takes out a fake sword.

The fake sword was a katana with a four pointed star shaped guard, a light blue hilt, and a dark blue sheath.

"Just put this on your back and you're ready to go." says Izuka as she hands him the sword.

"Thanks." says Gaara as he takes the sword, places it on his back, and sits on the couch.

"Captain Unohana, you're next." says Izuka as she gestures for Hinata to come to her.

"I'm coming." says Hinata as she walks over to the kimono wearing Lady Sage.

Izuka hands Hinata a pair of blue contacts and a skull cap. Hinata obediently puts them on and then stands still as Izuka puts on her long black wig. Izuka braids the hair the so that it was the same way as Unohana's usual braid. Izuka handed her a fake Minazuki. Hinata places it over her shoulder and walks over to the couch.

"Kankuro?" asks Izuka as she looks at the puppeteer, black paint suddenly appearing in her hand..

"Oooh, it's time for my fake tattoos." says Kankuro as he speedily walks toward her.

Izuka paints on the tribal tattoos all over Kankuro's head, neck, arms, and chest. She hands him brown contacts and a skull cap for him to put on. He puts them on and then lets Izuka place the crimson red wig on his head. She then hands him a fake Zabimaru.

"Matsuri, you're next." says Izuka as Kankuro walks away from her.

"Oh good." says Matsuri as she jumps to her feet and skips over to her.

She puts on a skull cap as Izuka starts to help her put on her black wig. She is then given violet colored contacts. She is then handed a fake Sode no Shirayuki.

"Aw man. I have to use the sealed sword?" asks Matsuri.

"Since I'm portraying your Zanpakutou spirit, it kind of makes sense." says Izuka flatly. "You're up next Naruto."

"Finally!" exclaims the blonde as he runs up to his sister.

He puts on his skull cap and then the long teal green colored wig. Izuka hands him a pair of gloves that looks like their made of ice and the tail for his back. Izuka then picks up some ice blue paint and paints an X across Naruto's face.

"You're done." says Izuka. "Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru lazily walks up to Izuka from his spot on the couch. He puts on his skull cap and then the long brown wig that Izuka handed to him. Izuka gives him a pair of gray contacts and then paints on his facial hair and chest hair. She gives him his straw hat and the two fake swords that represent Katen Kyokotsu.

Temari then walked over to Izuka, her skull cap already on her head. Izuka puts on her strawberry blonde wig for her and hands Temari a pair of blue contacts. She draws a beauty mark on the right side of Temari's mouth and then hands her a fake Haineko.

"And just like yesterday, you're last." says Gaara from his spot on the chair.

Izuka only smirked at his as she put on her skull cap. She grabs the pale lavender wig from the box and puts it over her head. She then grabs a pair of dark blue contacts from the box and places them over her ice blue eyes.

"That's everyone, right?" asks Naruto as he surveys the room.

"Yep, that was everyone." says Izuka.

"Good, let's go out. I want to see what the people think of our costumes." says Kankuro as he heads for the door.

"He's only saying that because he hopes people will like his costume since Renji's such a fan favorite." mutters Matsuri as she follows him out the house.

Everyone else follows them out into the warm air and sunshine, ready to enjoy the second day of the festival.

End of Spooky Chapter 4

**A/N: All Bleach references belong to the creator of Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.**

**Birthday Shout Outs: Happy Birthday Kidomaru (12/16). Happy B-Day Spider boy!**


	5. Oh the Shinigami!

Spooky Chapter 5: Oh the Shinigami!

After a long day of work and having fun on the second day of the Festival, the Sand Siblings, Lady Sage, Naruto, Shikamaru, Matsuri, and Hinata converged in the Sand Siblings' living room, tired from the day's activities.

"Well wasn't that fun?" asked Temari jovially as she sat on the couch.

"You basically acted drunk without being drunk Matsumoto." reprimanded Gaara as he took a seat across from her.

"Oh lighten up captain. It was all in good fun." said Temari as she sent a big grin Gaara's way.

"Fun for you, paperwork for me." whined Gaara as he lay back on the couch.

"Your master seems overworked, Hyourinmaru." commented Izuka as she looked at Naruto.

"He's not overworked. Matsumoto just stresses him a lot, that's all Sode no Shirayuki." commented Naruto as he continued to stare at Gaara and Temari with a stoic expression.

"It's amazing how their relationship has lasted this long with their conflicting personalities, huh Captain Kyoraku." commented Matsuri as she looked at Shikamaru.

"Sometimes the most conflicted relationships serve as the best dramas, Lieutenant Kuchiki." answered Shikamaru with a sheepish grin.

"I know how to stop them from bickering." chimed in Hinata.

"How so Captain Unohana?" asked Shikamaru.

"Just watch Kyoraku, Rukia." said Hinata, a slight smirk tugging at her lips.

Hinata walked towards the bickering siblings and stood in front of them.

"Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto, can you two please stop bickering?" asked Hinata in her sweetest voice while giving them "the smile".

As soon as Temari and Gaara turned their heads, they instantly froze, frightened by "the smile." They never knew that Hinata could do "the smile" so well.

"Her smile is very creepy, wouldn't you say Sode no Shirayuki?" asked Naruto, his stoic façade faltering slightly.

"Indeed Hyourinmaru." answered Izuka in returns with a sheepish grin.

"What did you two say?" asked Hinata as she looked at the twins with "the smile" still plastered across her features.

"Nothing!" chimed the two zanpakutou-dressed twins.

Before Hinata could say anything more, Kankuro walked into the room carrying his camera.

"Where have you been Abarai?" asked Gaara in his cold monotone.

"I had to get my camera to film the skit Captain Hitsugaya." answered Kankuro.

"Oh yeah. We are supposed to film skits in our costumes for each day of the festival. I almost forgot about that." said Temari as she jumped up from her chair.

"But wait a second. If we're all supposed to be in the skits, whose going to man the camera?" asked Matsuri as she walked up to Kankuro.

"Leave that to me!" exclaimed a mysteriously girly voice.

"Who said that?" asked Gaara.

"Me!" said the voice again. Izuka's pet dragon Ryu soon flew into the room and landed on the coffee table. She was wearing a shinigami robe of her own and a pink wig.

"Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi of the 11th Division at your service, as long as you have candy!" exclaimed Ryu as she saluted the group.

"Nice costume Ryu!" exclaimed Kankuro through his laughing fit.

"My name's Yachiru, Pineapple-head!" exclaimed Ryu in a cheery tone that held a hint of defiance.

Everyone either laughed or chuckled, except Naruto and Gaara, who still kept their cold demeanors.

"After seeing you in this costume Yachiru, you need to be a part of this skit." said Izuka in a calm tone. "We can use a shadow clone to film us."

"Or we could place the camera in a good location so that it catches the whole scene." said Shikamaru as he took the camera from Kankuro's hand and placed it on top of the TV.

"This way we can conserve our chakra and everybody could be in the skit." he said as he walked over to the group.

"Good enough for me. So what are we going to make our first skit be about?" asked Matsuri.

"How about we improvise the whole thing? We can start with two people and go on from there." suggested Kankuro.

"That's not a bad idea Renji. I owe you a glass of sake for that brilliant idea." said Temari as she pat him on the back.

"You really should stop drinking sake Matsumoto." said Gaara as he gave his sister a disapproving look.

"Technically, I should stop drinking in the office, but I sincerely can't help myself. The sake is just too good to resist." answered Temari in return.

"Who's going to start the skit?" asked Matsuri as she looked around the room.

"How about Big Boobies and Shiro-chan start us off?" asked Ryu as she pointed at Gaara and Temari.

"Hey! It's Captain Hitsugaya to you, Lieutenant Kusajishi!" snapped Gaara in reply.

"I think that's a great idea!" exclaimed Temari as she looked at Ryu, forgetting that Ryu caled her Big Boobies. She then grabbed Gaara's sleeve and dragged him with her to the kitchen.

"Where are you going with my master, Lieutenant Matsumoto?" asked Naruto as he gave the two a curious look.

"Me and Captain here are going to the kitchen to talk about how we are going to start the scene, so don't worry Hyourinmaru." called Temari as she walked in the kitchen with Gaara in tow.

"I'm so not going to like this." murmured Gaara as he was dragged behind his sister.

"I hope those two don't kill each other." sighed Izuka as she took a seat on the couch.

"I doubt it." said Kankuro as he took the seat next to her.

"Looks like we don't have to wait long." commented Shikamaru as he looked at the kitchen doorway.

The others followed suit and looked just in time to see Temari walk out of the kitchen, minus Gaara.

"Where's Captain Hitsugaya?" asked Matsuri as she gave Temari a suspicious look.

"He's in the kitchen waiting for his cue. Now get out of the camera's view until you're good and ready cause the show is about to start.

Everyone obeyed Temari and walked out of the camera's view and into the hallway that connected the living room to the foyer. Temari walked over to the TV and turned on the camera. She walked over to the couch, sat down on it, and started to take a nap. As silence started to enclose the room, Gaara walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

"Matsumoto, wake up!" exclaimed Gaara as he crossed his arms and gave his sleeping sister a disapproving glare.

"Huh? What? Are we being attacked by Hollows?" she asked without moving or opening her eyes.

"No." said an agitated Gaara.

"Then please give me five more minutes of sleep. I'm tired." whined Temari as she yawned.

"No, now get up and do your paperwork or else I'll freeze the collection of sake you have in the closet!" said Gaara in a cold tone.

"No not my sake!" yelled Temari.

"Then do your job Matsumoto!" exclaimed Gaara as he sat in a nearby recliner. He took up a large book and a pen and started to "do paperwork."

"Captain you're so stingy!" whined Temari as she too took a book and started to do her job.

"Here I go." said Naruto as he walked into the living room.

"Hyourinmaru, where have you been all day?" asked Gaara without looking up from his paperwork.

"I have been avoiding Haineko and Tobiume all day. They started arguing about me again, like I'm the only thing in this world." answered Naruto as he stood next to Gaara's sitting form.

"When will Haineko learn? Tobiume is meant for you Hyourinmaru, not Haineko." exclaimed Temari as she looked at Naruto.

"And why would you say that Lieutenant Matsumoto?" asked Naruto as he raised an eyebrow.

"Since your master obviously likes Momo, it only makes sense if those two hooked up, you and Tobiume would hook up." said Temari as she shrugged her shoulders.

Gaara tried in vain to fight off the red blush that appeared across his face. Naruto still kept his stoic façade.

"Will you shut up about me and Hinamori, Rangiku?!" exclaimed Gaara as he looked at his sister.

"You can't hide what's obvious, Captain. Most of the Soul Society already know you two like each other. Why don't you just admit it?" said Temari as she went back to her paperwork.

Before Gaara could say anything else, there was a knocking sound that came from the hallway.

"State your name, position, and division." said Gaara as he looked at Temari with a scowl.

"Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki from the 13th Division, requesting permission to enter Captain Hitsugaya." called Matsuri.

"Come in Kuchiki." answered Gaara through clenched teeth.

Matsuri walked into the living room carrying a large amount of paperwork. Izuka was walking behind her carrying a basket of watermelon slices.

"Hi Rangiku, Captain Hitsugaya, Hyourinmaru." said Matsuri as she acknowledge the three. She placed the paperwork in the middle of the coffee table.

"More paperwork?" whine Temari as she looked at the tall stack.

"For you that is." said Matsuri as she handed Temari three quarters of the large stack of paperwork and the rest to Gaara. Gaara smirked while Temari paled.

"What's all this for?" asked Temari through pursed lips.

"You're way behind in your paperwork for the Shinigami Women's Association." said Matsuri as she crossed her arms.

"We have to do paperwork?!" choked Temari.

"Yes, don't you check your inbox?" asked Matsuri.

"Inbox?" I thought that was the place to store sake?" she asked wide eyed.

Naruto, Gaara, and Izuka nodded their heads in disapproval. It was then that Naruto noticed the watermelon slices in the basket.

"Sode no Shirayuki, what's with the basket of watermelon slices?" asked Naruto. Gaara looked over at Izuka and his eyes instantly brightened at the sight of the watermelon slices.

"Rukia-san and I had to drop off paperwork at 5th Division before coming here. Lieutenant Hinamori asked me to drop off this basket for your master." answered Izuka.

"Why?" asked Gaar as he walked over to the Sage-turned-zanpakutou.

"Your grandmother sent them over from the Rukongai and she wanted me to deliver your share of it." answered Izuka as she handed the basket to the snowy haired Kazekage.

"Oh" answered Gaara. "Thank you Sode no Shirayuki."

"You're welcome Captain Hitsugaya." answered Izuka as she turned her attention to the hallway and her eyes opened up in bewilderment.

"What is it Sode no Shirayuki?" asked Matsuri as she walked up to Izuka's side.

"Renji Abarai is at the door and he doesn't look so good." answered Izuka as she walked toward the hallway. She soon walked back with Kankuro following her looking disheveled and holding Zabimaru in one of his hands.

"Renji, what happened to you!" exclaimed Matsuri as she ran up to him.

"Me and Ichigo just got into a little sparring match with a drunk Kenpachi and me and Ichigo seriously didn't want to stick around for the end of it." answered Kankuro.

"Where's Ichigo?" asked Matsuri.

"He's right behind-. WHERE THE HELL IS ICHIGO!?" exclaimed Kankuro as he turned around to see that no one was behind him.

"Is there some sort of sake party going on in here?" asked Shikamaru as he walked into the living room.

"What are you doing here Captain Kyoraku?' panted Kankuro.

"I decided to take a break from my paperwork and take a walk. As I was walking, I heard the commotion coming from within this office and I decided to check it out thinking it was one of Rangiku's sake parties." answered Shikamaru with a smirk.

"A sake party is a great idea! I'll go get my stash!" exclaimed Temari as she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Matsumoto get back to work!" exclaimed Gaara.

"I'll get back to work Captain, AFTER our impromptu sake party." said Temari jovially as she walked out the kitchen carrying a few bottles of soda. She handed one to Shikamaru.

"Don't mind if I do Rangiku." said Shikamaru as he took a swig of his Mountain Dew.

Temari soon handed a bottle of soda to Izuka and Naruto. Izuka took it willingly, Naruto took it begrudgingly. Temari walked over to Kankuro and Matsuri, who were still talking about Ichigo.

"Come on guys! Join the party!" exclaimed Temari happily as she held two bottles of soda in front of them.

"No thank Rangiku. We got to save Ichigo!" said Matsuri as she ran into the hallway. "RENJI, SODE NO SHIRAYUKI, LETS GO!" she yelled from behind her shoulder.

Kankuro tiredly ran after Matsuri, followed by Izuka, who still had the soda bottle in hand.

"Can this day get any worse?' asked Gaara to no one in particular.

"Uh master, what happened to your watermelon slices?" asked Naruto.

"_It just did." _thought Gaara. He looked down into the basket to see Ryu surrounded by empty watermelon shells, chowing down on the last slice.

"Yachiru!" said a horrified Gaara.

"Thanks for letting me eat some of your food, Whitey." said Ryu as she jumped out of the basket.

"I didn't let you eat my watermelon slices and those were from my grandmother." Gaara choked out as he picked up an empty watermelon shell.

"Oh" said Ryu. "Thanks anyway. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to watch Ken-chan beat up Ichigo." said Ryu as she ran in to the hallway.

"She ate them all, Hyorinmaru." said Gaara in defeat as he turned to Naruto, but he wasn't in his seat.

"Where did you go Hyorin-?" Gaara started toa say, but cut himself off as he witnessed Naruto, Temari, and Shikamaru drinking soda and singing Christmas carols.

"_We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas."_ the three sang, pretending to be drunk.

"Like I asked before, can this get any worse?" asked Gaara as he looked away from the three. All of a sudden, Hinata silently entered the room. She walked up to Gaara, whose back was facing her.

"There you are Captain Hitsugaya. It's time for your yearly check-up." said Hinata as she did "the smile."

Gaara turned around to see "the smile" in full force. He instantly paled and fainted.

"Looks like I'm going to have to carry him to 4th Division." said Hinata. She picked up Gaara's legs and began to drag him across the floor to the hallway.

Naruto, Temari, and Shikamaru all looked at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Should I go help my masterrrr?" slurred Naruto as he looked at the two.

"Nah, he'll be finnnne." said Temari as she looked at Naruto.

"Whose up for another Christmas carol?" asked Shikamaru as he raised his soda bottle and took a swig of his drink.

"Us!" chorused Naruto and Temari as they joined Shikamaru in singing the "12 Days of Christmas".

As the three sang, Kankuro ran into the room towards the TV and turned off the camera.

"That's a wrap, everyone!" he said as he picked up his camera in his hands.

Matsuri, Izuka, Hinata, Ryu, and Gaara walked back out into the living room and took their seats on the couches and recliners.

"That was fun!" said Izuka as she sat next to Gaara, who was brushing dirt off his clothes.

"I'll say." said Temari. "I still can't believe that you fainted, Gaara."

"It's still Captain Hitsugaya to you Matsumoto, and for your information I pretended to faint." snapped Gaara as he looked at his sister.

"You're so mean." whined Temari.

"Bite me." countered Gaara.

"Let's take a break from pretending, shall we?" asked Shikamaru. He turned to Izuka. "Where did you get the basket of watermelon slices Izzy?"

"One: stop calling me Izzy, and two: I went out the front door and went around the house to the backdoor to the kitchen and grabbed the watermelon slices from the fridge and then I ran back around to the front." said Izuka as she scratched her wig.

"Ryu how were you able to eat all those watermelon slices, let alone sneak into the basket?" asked Kankuro.

"I will never tell, but those watermelon slices were delicious." said Ryu as she rubbed her belly.

"There's one more question that should be asked." said Naruto. He turned to Hinata. "How are you able to do "the smile"?"

"Lots of practice. Unohana is one of my favorite characters from Bleach." said Hinata shyly.

"All in all, great job guys on the improvisation. I can't wait for tomorrow's skit!" exclaimed Kankuro as he looked at Temari.

"You'll know the costumes and the theme tomorrow. For now, let's eat. I'm starving." said Temari as she walked to the kitchen.

Everyone followed after her, except Ryu, who fell asleep on the couch after eating so many watermelon slices and gaining one hardcore tummy ache.

End of spooky chapter 5

**A/N: Please review and vote on my poll. Also, don't be afraid to leave costume suggestions. Any suggestions are welcomed.**

**Birthday Shout Outs: Tomorrow (12/27) is Naruto's own Hinata Hyuga's birthday. Happy birthday Hinata! I hope Naruto got you a gift. **


	6. Oh Inuyasha!

Spooky Chapter 6: Oh Inuyasha!

**October 3**

It was early in the morning as Sunagakure's citizens prepared for day three of the Scary and Spooky Sand Festival. Currently in the Sand Siblings' residence, everyone was asleep, except Izuka who was currently walking to the front door to get the newspaper.

"I wonder what costumes we'll wear for today?" asked Izuka to no one in particular as she opened the door and grabbed the newspaper.

"I LOVED YOUR PORTRAYAL OF SODE NO SHIRAYUKI!" yelled a fan boy from across the block as he waved his hands frantically to get her attention from behind a telephone pole.

"THANK YOU!" she shouted in return as she walked back inside the house and closed the door behind her, shivering slightly.

"Why are fan boys and fan girls so obsessive?" asked Izuka to no one in particular again.

"Because some of them don't have lives so they focus on an object that gives them purpose." suggested a monotone voice.

Izuka turned her head to see Gaara walk down the stairs. He was dressed in a light blue shirt with dark blue pajama pants and was wearing a pair of indoor slippers.

"Don't you think that's a little blunt of an answer?" asked Izuka as she raised a blonde eyebrow at the redhead.

"It may be blunt, but can you think of any other reason why people would obsess over us?" asked Gaara as he joined Izuka at ground level.

"Not really." answered Izuka as she and Gaara walked into the kitchen. The two sat on a couple of stools as Izuka started to look through the newspaper.

"What are you looking for?" asked Gaara as he eyed the newspaper in Izuka's hands.

"I'm looking for the poll for yesterday's Bleach costumes. I want to see who got first place this time." answered Izuka as she stopped looking through the paper and settled on a page. "Here it is."

Gaara looked over Izuka's shoulder to look at the poll results for yesterday's costumes. The results were as followed: Gaara as Toshiro Hitsugaya, Naruto as Hyourinmaru, and Izuka as Sode no Shirayuki all tied for first place with 20%, Temari as Rangiku Matsumoto got 15%,, Shikamaru as Shunsui Kyoraku and Hinata as Retsu Unohana both got 10% of the vote, while Matsuri as Rukia Kuchiki and Kankuro as Renji Abarai tied for last, each with 2.5% of the vote.

"Looks like Kankuro won't be happy this time around. Him and Matsuri tied for last place with less than 3% of the vote each." said Izuka as she continued to eye the poll.

"Well at least I tied with you for first place this time. I'm surprised that your brother tied with us." said Gaara as he got up from his chair and grabbed a nearby cereal bowl.

"Apparently, Naruto can really pull off the ice dragon look." commented Izuka as she put down the newspaper, grabbed a cereal bowl for herself, and followed Gaara into the dining room.

"It was kind of weird to see Naruto to be that serious for so long though." said Gaara as he poured a box of Coco Puffs into his bowl and handed it to Izuka.

"That's Naruto for ya. Unpredictable at his best." said Izuka as she poured the chocolate cereal into her bowl.

As Gaara walked back into the kitchen to get some milk, there was a knock on the front door.

"That's probably Matsuri." called Gaara from the kitchen.

"I'll get it." called Izuka as she ran to the front door to let Matsuri in. Gaara walked into the dining room from the kitchen at the same time Izuka walked into the dining room from the living room with Matsuri following right behind her.

"Hello!" cried Matsuri as she took a seat at the dining room table.

"Morning." answered Gaara in return as he poured the milk in his cereal bowl. He then handed it to Izuka.

"You want something to eat Matsuri?" asked Izuka as she poured the milk into her bowl.

"Nope; I ate on the way here." answered Matsuri as she eyed the newspaper on the kitchen counter.

"Don't bother because you came in last tied with Kankuro." answered Gaara bluntly as he ate a spoonful of Coco Puffs.

"What? I thought people liked Rukia." answered Matsuri as she got up from her chair and grabbed the newspaper.

"They like Rukia, They just don't like your portrayal of her." answered Izuka as she too ate a spoonful of her cereal.

"Whatever." whined Matsuri as she threw the newspaper on the table.

Suddenly, Naruto and Kankuro ran past the three to the kitchen, followed by Temari, Shikamaru, and Hinata at a much slower pace. After five minutes, the group emerged with cereal bowls in hand.

"What's with the running?" asked Matsuri as everyone else took their seats around the table.

"Me and Naruto raced to the kitchen to see who would get the last of the Frosted Flakes. And as you can see, I won." said Kankuro with a smirk as he held the blue cereal box above his head.

"I'll get you next time, Kankuro. The flakes will be mine." said Naruto as he poured himself a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He then handed the box to Hinata.

"You should try Honey Bunches of Oats or Honey Nut Cheerios, Kankuro. They are way healthier, especially for a guy your size." said Temari as she ate a spoonful of her cheerios.

"STOP IMPLYING THAT I'M FAT!" yelled Kankuro in annoyance.

"CALM DOWN OR I WON'T TELL YOU WHO YOU WILL BE PORTRAYING TODAY!" returned Temari with a smirk.

Kankuro and the rest of the room instantly shut themselves up. Gaara gave everyone a disapproving nod of his head.

"What have we said about yelling this early in the morning?" he asked in a tired tone.

"That if you yell, it won't end well." answered Kankuro as he took a defeated gulp of his cereal.

"Exactly." said Gaara as he started to drink the chocolate milk in his bowl.

"Before I say what today's theme is, what are the results of the Suna Times' costume poll?" asked Temari.

"Look for yourself." answered Izuka as she opened the newspaper to the poll page.

"Oh snap, I tied with you guys." said Naruto as he chewed his cereal.

"I dropped in the ratings?" asked Shikamaru as he raised an eyebrow at the paper.

"At least your not last." answered Matsuri. "I tied with Kankuro for last place."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Kankuro as he nearly avoided choking on his cereal. "I thought I would get more votes if I dressed up as Renji."

"Well it backfired on you Kankuro because you and Matsuri both got 2.5 of the village vote. Apparently, between your portrayal of Aizen and your portrayal of Renji, they preffered Aizen, but not by much." said Temari as she went back to eating her cheerios.

"Damn it!" said Kankuro in anger. He then looked at Temari. "What's the theme today?"

Everyone went silent and looked at Temari. Temari placed her spoon back into her bowl and took out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"Today is Dress like an Inuyasha Character Day!" said Temari with a grin.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions. Naruto and Kankuro both high fived each other, Gaara and Izuka shrugged, Matsuri smiled, Hinata nodded her head, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"This should be interesting." commented Shikamaru as he crossed his arms.

"You know it." said Temari as she turned to Gaara.

"Gaara, you'll be Sesshomaru." said Temari with a grin.

"Okay." answered Gaara blankly as he got up from his seat for the kitchen to put away his empty bowl.

"Hinata, you'll be Kagome." said Temari.

"I have to wear the school uniform don't I?" asked Hinata, much to Naruto's chagrin.

"Yep; Kankuro you'll be Miroku."

"Does that mean I have permission to be a womanizer?" asked Kankuro with a sly smirk.

"As long as you don't mind that Matsuri will be Sango." said Temari.

"Sweet! I get to hit Kankuro with a boomerang if he tries to cheat on me or flirt with women." said Matsuri as she snapped her fingers.

"Aw man!" complained Kankuro.

"Naruto, you will be Inuyasha." said Temari.

"Of course I will." said Naruto with a knowing smirk.

"Izuka, you will be Rin."

"That's annoying. I have to refer to myself in the third person for the whole day." said Izuka as she walked over to Gaara, who had just reemerged from the kitchen.

"Who'd you get?" asked Gaara in curiosity.

"I got Rin." answered Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"It was either her or Kikyo, you decide." said Temari in annoyance.

"I'll stick with Rin because of two reasons. One: Kikyo's a bitch and two: since Naruto will be Inuyasha, he will have to obsess over me. There will be no incest today or any day, got that!" ranted Izuka.

"Preach sister, preach!" yelled a sarcastic Shikamaru and Kankuro in unison.

"Glad were on equal terms. Shikamaru will be Naraku and I will be Kagura." said Temari with finality.

"Why are we the bad guys this time?" asked Shikamaru.

"Cause I'm having a bad day." said a sarcastic Temari.

"Can I just say something?" asked Hinata.

"What is it Hina?" asked Izuka.

"Isn't it kind of ironic that Temari is making her boyfriend portray Naraku, who originally was a spider demon?" asked Hinata.

"You're right and Temari is afraid of spiders!" exclaimed Kankuro. He soon broke down in a fit of laughter.

"I'm not afraid of Shikamaru." said Temari bluntly. Shikamaru gave her an appalled look of disgust.

"But you are afraid of spiders." answered Gaara.

"Only the ones that are as big as a fist. Now go upstairs everyone and get your assigned costumes. The box is in the closet hallway."

Everyone did what they were told. They discarded their bowls in the kitchen sink and walked upstairs to retrieve and change into their respective costumes.

**One hour later**

Everyone was dressed in their respective costumes and wigs and were waiting in the living room for Izuka, who was the only one not in the room.

"Where's Izuka?" asked Naruto as he looked down the hallway.

"Right here." said Izuka as she came up from the basement with the makeup box in hand. She was dressed in a black wig and a yellow and orange checkered kosode just like the actual Rin. The thing is, the Kosode that Temari got for her was super short and stopped at mid-thigh.

"Oh my." said Hinata in surprise.

Kankuro, Naruto, Shikamaru, and especially Gaara all blushed when they saw Izuka in her costume. Izuka looked straight at Temari with a scowl plastered on her face.

"You couldn't have bought me a longer kosode?" asked Izuka with a hint of venom in her voice.

"Sorry, costume shop was all out." said Temari with a smirk. "Now get started with the makeup."

"Fine." said Izuka in defeat as she opened the makeup case. "Gaara come here."

Gaara did as he was told and walked over to his girlfriend's side.

"What's first?" he asked.

"Contacts." responded Izuka as she handed him a pair of golden amber contacts.

Gaara put the contacts on and stood still as Izuka painted a blue crescent moon on his forehead and two magenta stripes on each of his cheeks, eye lids, and wrists. She then placed prosthetic and pointy dog ears over his actual ones.

"You're done." said Izuka.

"Thank you Rin." answered Gaara as he sat on the couch.

"Hinata, you're next." said Izuka.

Hinata silently walked up to Izuka. All Izuka gave her was a pair of brown contacts.

"Well that was easy." commented Kankuro as he walked past Hinata over to Izuka to receive his purple contacts.

Matsuri walked up to Izuka next to get her brown contacts, followed by Shikamaru and Temari who were given red contacts. Naruto walked up to Izuka to get his golden amber contacts and prosthetic ears after them.

After Izuka put her own brown contacts into her eyes, she turned to the group.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep." answered everyone in unison.

"Good. We will all separate for the day and meet back here for the skit later tonight around seven. Don't be late." said Izuka as she followed Gaara out the door.

Everyone else evacuated the house at different times and dispersed to the different areas of Suna, ready to enjoy the different activities that the festival had to offer.

End of Spooky Chapter 6

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY! Please review and vote on my poll. I am always open to costume suggestions.**

**Birthday Shout Outs: Tomorrow, January 1****st****, is Yoruichi Shioin from Bleach and Might Guy from Naruto's Birthdays. Happy B-Day you two!**

**P.S. Inuyasha does not belong to me! And neither does any of the mentioned cereals! I only buy them. **


	7. Couples Throughout Suna

Spooky Chapter 7: Couples throughout Suna

After everyone's costumes were officially completed, they all separated as soon as they left the Sand Siblings' residence in order to enjoy the many activities the Scary and Spooky Sand Festival had to offer. Basically, they each left in groups, or in this case, as couples.

* * *

**With Gaara and Izuka**

Izuka and Gaara were walking throughout the busy market place on their way to the Kazekage Tower in central Sunagakure.

"Rin is amazed at all the people enjoying the festival!" exclaimed Izuka as she looked around their surroundings.

"Rin, how many times do I have to tell you to stop referring to yourself in the third person?" responded Gaara sternly as he gave Izuka a look to match.

"Sorry Sesshomaru-sama." said Izuka apologetically as she bowed her head in shame.

"Don't worry about it. What you should be more worried about the amount of paperwork that lies in wait for us at the tower." said Gaara as he walked in front of Izuka.

"Why am I helping you with your paperwork again?" asked Izuka as she ran up to Gaara to walk beside him.

"Thank to those bandits attacking the trade convoys between Suna and Kiri, it has led to an increase of paperwork for me. Since you have next to no paperwork to do today, I have asked you to help me." answered Gaara as he gave Izuka a stoic expression.

"And I said yes?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow. Gaara scowled at her.

"Yes you did. You even promised me you would help me. Now don't go back on your word." said Gaara in a reprimanding tone.

"Rin won't Sesshomaru-san." answered Izuka. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her.

"I just referred to myself in the third person again didn't I?" asked Izuka with an embarrassed grin.

Gaara nodded his head.

"I'll shut up now."

* * *

**With Temari and Shikamaru**

"I just love the wind, don't you?" asked Temari as she looked over at Shikamaru as the two strolled through a separate marketplace in eastern Suna.

"Yes, it is quite comforting indeed Kagura." answered Shikamaru as he looked around the market. He soon noticed the disapproving stares coming their way.

"I think the citizens of Suna disapprove of our outfits Kagura." said Shikamaru with a lazy smirk.

"Let them." answered Temari in differently as she crossed her arms. "If they don't like the bad guys, then that's their opinion. I don't care about their opinions."

"_I have the feeling she's going to be a handful today."_ thought Shikamaru as he followed the wind mistress through the market to the nearby Suna Mall.

* * *

**With Kankuro and Matsuri**

"Will you bear my child?"

Kankuro asked a raven haired girl who was dressed like a French maid as the two were standing in front of a convenience store.

"Uhhh, I think the girl with the giant boomerang wouldn't like that." answered the maid girl as she pointed to the person behind Kankuro.

Kankuro turned around to see Matsuri annoyed face and menacingly holding her boomerang.

"Let's go Miroku." she said through clenched teeth as she grabbed Kankuro's shirt collar with her free hand and dragged him unto the street.

"Whatever you say Sango." said Kankuro with a sheepish smirk as he was dragged by the petite girl.

* * *

**With Naruto and Hinata**

"So what do you want to do Kagome?" asked Naruto as he nervously looked at the Hyuga who was walking next to him on his left.

"I honestly have no idea. How about we just walk through the park over there Inuyasha?" asked Hinata equally as nervous as Naruto as she pointed to a nearby park.

"Fine by me." answered Naruto as the two entered the small recreational area.

The park was filled with vegetation that was suitable for the desert oasis that was Suna. As the duo walked through the cactus lined walkways, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand in his own.

"Inuyasha, what's the meaning of this?" asked Hinata as she blushed, startled at Naruto's sudden gesture.

"I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to hold your hand for a while." answered Naruto as he looked at her with a smile, showing off his own blush.

"Oh-okay." answered Hinata as she started to firmly hold on to Naruto's hand as the two continued their walk through the park, hand-in-hand.

* * *

**With Gaara and Izuka**

Izuka and Gaara stepped into the Kazekage Tower, climbed up a few flights of stairs, and walked down a long beige corridor to Gaara's office at the end of the hall.

As Gaara opened his office door, Izuka broke the comfortable silence.

"So how much paperwork are we talking about Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked as the two walked through the now open door.

"How about that much?" asked Gaara as he pointed at his mahogany desk. Izuka instantly paled.

"That is a lot." commented Izuka as she ogled the desk with an unsure glare. The desk was covered with large stacks of paper. There was not an open space in sight.

"This was all caused by those bandits attacking the trade convoys?" asked Izuka as she walked closer to the desk.

"Sadly, yes. I suggest we get to work right away. We should try to get at least half of it done before the end of the day." said Gaara as he took his seat at his desk.

He picked up a stack of paperwork and a pen and handed them to Izuka.

"Let the fun begin." said Izuka sarcastically as she took a seat on a nearby couch that Gaara kept in his room for visitors.

Gaara only nodded as he began his first pile of paperwork.

* * *

**With Shikamaru and Temari **

"Would you want something to eat Kagura?" asked Shikamaru as he sat on a nearby park bench. Temari and him had entered the Suna Mall about an hour ago to peruse the shops.

"I am a little famished." said Temari. "Where should we go Naraku?"

"I leave the choice to you." answered Shikamaru.

"Why don't you pick?" asked Temari in curiosity.

"You know this place better than I do. I bet you know a few good places around here that we could eat at." answered Shikamaru as he sat up in his seat.

"Indeed I do. There's a nice Korean BBQ place right upstairs on the second floor." offered Temari.

"That's an excellent choice." said Shikamaru as he finally stood up from the bench.

"I didn't know you liked Korean BBQ." commented Temari as she noticed the sudden change of expression on Shikamaru's face.

"When you got a friend like Choji, Korean BBQ grows on you." answered Shikamaru as he followed Temari to the escalator.

* * *

**With Kankuro and Matsuri**

"Will you bear my child Sango?" asked Kankuro in an attempt to break the silence that surrounded the two since the French maid incident earlier.

"No!" cried Matsuri bluntly. "For the hundredth time Miroku, I will not bear your child."

"But I need to break the curse that has befallenthe men in my clan for generations." whined Kankuro as the two walked through a small square filled with tiny antique shops.

"And you will soon. You'll find the right girl." said Matsuri kindly as she gave him a sincere look.

"Thank you Sango." replied Kankuro as he let out a sigh.

"You're welcome. Now come on. Let's go find some where to eat. I bet you're starving."

"Am I ever?" asked Kankuro as he followed the boomerang-wielding Matsuri out of the square and onto a new street.

* * *

**With Naruto and Hinata**

After walking out of the park, the duo got a quick bite to eat at a local ramen shop. After they left the shop, they continued to explore the streets of Suna.

"This has been a pretty good day so far, huh Kagome?" asked Naruto as he looked over at the Hyuga that was still holding hands with him.

"You got that right Inuyasha." answered Hinata in a cheery voice. Naruto grinned at her and brought his attention back on the road in front of them.

"Can I just ask you something totally random?" asked Hinata out of the blue.

"Sure thing Kagome. Ask me anything you want." answered Naruto.

"Are you still annoyed whenever I call out Osuwari?" asked Hinata.

She gasped as Naruto instantly let go of her hand and fell to the ground smack dab on his face like the real Inuyasha would, much to the chagrin of the people around them.

"Inuyasha!" called Hinata as she knelt beside the fallen Naruto.

Naruto mumbled something incoherently to the ground.

"What did you say Inuyasha?" asked Hinata as she knelt closer to him.

Naruto picked his head up to look at Hinata right in the eyes.

"Never say Osuwari again got it?" said Naruto in a stern voice.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop saying Osuwari." said Hinata in an apologetic tone.

Naruto's head instantly went back to the ground.

Hinata scratched her head again in realization.

"I should have never had said that."

* * *

**With Izuka and Gaara**

It had been three hours since Izuka and Gaara started to work on the massive amounts of paperwork that had befallen the poor Kazekage. After a while the two got hungry, so Gaara called up Miyure's for their usual takeout.

Currently, the two were having their lunch break. Izuka was eating her lunch on the couch while Gaara ate his lunch at his desk.

While Izuka wasn't looking, Gaara snuck a quick look at her. Izuka was sitting on one side of the black leather couch eating her shrimp dumplings while letting her bare legs stretch out on the rest of the couch.

Damn that short kosode she was wearing.

"_Damn you Temari. You could have gotten Izuka a more conservative kosode. But no, she had to get her the super short and sexy one." _Gaara thought within in the confines of his secure mind. Well mostly secure mind.

"Did you just call this short kosode I'm wearing sexy?" asked Izuka as she looked at Gaara. Gaara instantly blushed.

"You should really stop listening to what I say in my mind." complained Gaara as he looked down at his half-finished gizzard tongue.

"Like I said before Gaara, it can't be helped. Thanks to the fact that you used to be Shukaku's jinchuriki and I'm now the current one, along with being the jinchuriki of the seven other sealed beasts within me, the telepathic link between us has been established thanks to that tanuki and it can't be stopped. We're forced to listen to each other's thoughts, unless we speak them really quietly." retorted Izuka as she took a bite out of her dumpling.

"I spoke that last thought out loud didn't I?" asked Gaara.

"Indeed you did Sesshomaru-san." answered Izuka as she put her dumpling back into her food tray and got up from the couch.

"What are you doing Rin?" asked Gaara as he observed his girlfriend walk across the room to his bookshelf, where a small, black stereo system was placed on one of the lower shelves.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to play some music. It helps the work go by faster." answered Izuka as she took out her I-Pod and placed it in the stereo dock.

"Are you in the mood for anything specific?" asked Izuka as she placed her hands on her hips and turned to Gaara.

"Rock please." said Gaara as he threw his tray into the trash can next to his desk and went back to his paperwork.

"Good enough for me." said Izuka as she turned back to the bookshelf. Since the shelf the stereo was on was so low, Izuka had to bend down forward to tap on her I-Pod. Since his desk was in a conveniently strategic position, Gaara looked at Izuka fiddle with the small machine.

"Stop looking at my butt, Sesshomaru-san." answered Izuka without turning to look at him.

Gaara instantly blushed and went back to his work. Izuka turned around and walked back to the couch, sneaking a look at the feverishly working Kazekage as she went.

"Boys." she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that." answered Gaara flatly without looking up.

"You were supposed to." answered Izuka as she sat back down on the couch and went back to her paperwork.

Gaara only noded his head as he signed his signature on another report of his massive piles of paeprwork.

End of Spooky Chapter 7

**A/N: Read, review, vote on my poll, and leave costume suggestions if you want.**

**Birthday Shout Outs: Happy Birthday tomorrow Haku (1/9) from Naruto. For the longest while I thought you were a girl to be honest, but now I have realized what your gender truly is. Happy B-day dude who looks like a lady!**


	8. What a Day!

Spooky Chapter 8: What a Day!

**With Gaara and Izuka**

It was currently four in the afternoon as the Lady Sage and the Kazekage neared the end of the endless paperwork. Gaara looked up from his dwindling papers at Izuka, who had already finished her half of the paperwork.

"You're done already?" asked a disbelieving Gaara as he placed his pen back on the table.

"I finished it all an hour ago." answered Izuka as she bobbed her head while listening to Green Day's "American Idiot."

"How do you finish paperwork so fast?" asked Gaara as he finished signing his last report of the day.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." answered Izuka as she got up from her seat and walked over to the bookshelf.

As she was turning off the stereo and placing her I-Pod back into her pocket, there was a loud knocking sound coming from her office door.

"I wonder who could that be." said Izuka as she walked over to the door.

"Probably just a messenger from the one of the council members." answered Gaara coolly as he got up from his chair.

Izuka opened the door to see that it was indeed a female ANBU messenger who wore an eagle mask.

"Message for the Kazekage and Lady Sage." said the messenger with her feminine voice that was a little gruff around the edges.

"Thank you." responded Izuka as she took the small scroll from the ANBU member. She closed the door and walked over to Gaara, who was casually leaning on his desk.

"I wonder if it holds good or bad news." said Gaara as he moved a step to the side.

"Why don't we find out then Sesshomaru-san?" asked Izuka as she opened the scroll and placed it on the table.

The writing in the scroll was sealed and required a sample of Izuka's and Gaara's blood. Izuka placed her right thumb in her mouth and used one of her vampire fangs to make a small cut in her skin. Gaara commanded some of his sand to make a small wound on his left thumb.

The two placed their bloody thumbs onto two circles on the scroll. When their blood fully filled the circles, the circles disappeared and the message appeared in its place. After scanning the page, Izuka took a sharp breath while Gaara closed his eyes.

"This is not good." complained Gaara as he reopened his eyes and looked at Izuka.

"Not good at all."

**With Temari and Shikamaru**

"This has been a pretty decent day after all, isn't it Naraku?" asked Temari as the two walked out of the Suna Mall.

"It has been a good day, even though you dragged me through almost every shop in there?" said Shikamaru as he placed his hands behind his head.

"I was feeling picky today." was all Temari said as she raised her arms full of shopping bags for emphasis.

"I bet some of those clothes don't even fit you. You barely tried most of them on." said Shikamaru as he gave Temari a suspicious look.

"That's because there not all for me." said Temari with a mischievous grin.

"Don't tell me you bought those clothes because you want to make Hinata, Izuka, and Matsuri wear them for some impromptu fashion show you want to put on for your YouTube channel."

"Ding ding, that's the 10,000 yen answer, Mr. Smart Guy!" said a sarcastic Temari as she turned a corner.

"Isn't this the main road home?" asked Shikamaru as he followed Temari onto the street.

"Yeah; I know we don't need to be back home before seven, but I'm so tired with all these bags I'm carrying, I thought we should just call it day." said Temari as she practically dragged her shopping bags along the street.

"If you are so tired, why don't you let me carry a few of them?" asked Shikamaru as he raised his empty hands.

"I can carry them myself!" snapped Temari.

"How troublesome you are Kagura." replied Shikamaru as he followed the wind mistress back all the way to the Sand Siblings' residence.

**With Matsuri and Kankuro**

"This food is delicious." cried Kankuro as he walked beside Matsuri through the southern Suna market.

"Calm down with the hamburgers, will you Miroku? It's embarrassing." said Matsuri as she looked at the awkward glances that were coming hers and Kankuro's way.

"Oh, sorry about that. I got carried away, again." said Kankuro apologetically as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Just don't do it again in public, or around me okay?" asked Matsuri as she started to walk ahead of Kankuro.

"Wait a second Sango. Are you embarrassed by me?" asked Kankuro in a hurtful tone as he ran up to catch up with her.

"I'm not embarrassed because I'm with you. I'm embarrassed because of the way you eat in public." said Mastsuri as she crossed her arms.

"Really?" asked Kankuro with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"To put it bluntly, you eat like a slob." said Matsuri in a deadpan, hoping to get her point across.

"Oh." answered Kankuro as he looked away from her deadpan stare.

The two continued to walk in awkward silence before Kankuro piped up with a suggestion.

"How about I try to eat more properly in public, you know, less like a slob?" asked Kankuro.

"You would do that?" asked Matsuri with uncertainty laced in her voice.

"I don't want you to be unhappy with me." answered Kankuro as he looked at her sincerely for a moment before looking away.

"Alright, if you say so." said Matsuri as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Thank you!" exclaimed Kankuro as he picked her up in a big bear hug.

"Aren't you a hugger." commented Matsuri as the two held each other in the middle of the street.

After a few seconds of hugging, Matsuri felt that something was off.

"Miroku, get your hand off my butt."

**With Naruto and Hinata**

"So, how have you enjoyed the day so far?" asked Naruto as he and Hinata walked through a small street carnival in northwest Suna.

"It's probably one of the best days I have lived through in a long time." answered Hinata as she continued to hold Naruto's hand with one hand while hugging a stuffed fox to her chest.

Naruto had won Hinata the stuffed fox at one of those booths where the goal is to knock down all the bottles with a ball earlier.

"Should we head back to the house?" asked Naruto. "It's almost seven."

"We probably should." answered Hinata as they turned onto a new street.

As the two walked in a comfortable silence, they observed the shops and people that were going past them as they walked in the other direction.

"Kagome, how are you coping without Neji?"

Hinata stopped dead in her tracks at the question.

"Kagome?" asked Naruto in surprise. "You don't need to answer if you don't want to."

"No it's okay." answered Hinata timidly as she started to walk again. "I haven't really gotten used to Neji no longer being among us at the manor. Some of the family still hasn't gotten over the fact that he's passed on."

"What about Tenten? She was his girlfriend after all." asked Naruto.

"She's a trooper Inuyasha. She was depressed for a while, but thanks to Lee and some of the girls, she's been pulling through this."

"I never wanted any of our friends to die during the war." said Naruto glumly as he looked at the ground.

"It's not your fault. We all knew that death would be a possibility when the war started. We were all fighting to stop the evil that was Madara and Obito Uchiha. What Neji did was a noble sacrifice."

"I realize that Kagome, but it's still a hard pill to swallow." answered Naruto as they turned onto another street.

Naruto looked straight ahead with a strange, but stoic expression on his face. Hinata started to worry about him, but a new idea crept into her mind.

"Kagome?" asked Naruto as Hinata suddenly stepped in front of him. "What are you doing?"

"This!" answered Hinata as she swiftly planted a sweet kiss on Naruto's lips. She broke away and ran ahead of him.

"Kagome?" called Naruto as he ran after her.

"Catch me if you can!" called Hinata as she ran down the street, Naruto right on her heels.

**Back with Izuka and Gaara**

"I can't believe those bandits did that!" said Izuka with disbelief evident in her voice as both she and Gaara walked home after leaving the Kazekage Tower.

"They seriously want to make a statement if they have decided to burn down an entire town, Rin." said Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"At least none of the townspeople were injured during the attack. What do we do now?" asked Izuka as she looked at the fading sunlight on the horizon.

"We'll just have to wait until the council meeting tomorrow to deal with this problem. For now, let's try to enjoy the festival while it's still pleasant." said Gaara as they walked through the still bustling street.

"I don't think I can after reading that message Sesshomaru-san." said a saddened Izuka as she looked at the ground.

Gaara sneaked a look at Izuka's sorrowful face. She usually didn't show a broad range of emotion out in public, so it was rare for Gaara to see Izuka like this.

"Hey, don't be sad Rin. Those bandits will be stopped soon enough. We just have to be patient." said Gaara as he picked up her chin in his hands.

"Thanks for the reassurance Sesshomaru-san, but it still doesn't change my mood that much." answered Izuka as she broke free from Gaara's hold and walked ahead of him.

"It was worth a shot." said Gaara as he followed after the Lady Sage. When he finally was right beside her again, he grabbed her hand in his own.

"Sesshomaru-san, hand holding in public is a bad idea." said Izuka as she looked at their intertwined hands.

"And why would you say that Rin?" asked Gaara curiously.

"Those fab girls of yours dressed in kimonos come to mine." said Izuka as she pointed to the group in front of the two.

Gaara followed her gaze to a group of his crazy fan girls. They were all dressed like Japanese maidens and had shocked looks on their faces as they caught sight of Izuka's and Gaara's conjoined hands.

"So the rumor is true." said a brunette girl in a red kimono. "The Lady Sage and our Kazekage are dating."

"It can't be true! I won't accept that!" yelled an angry blond haired girl in an orange kimono. "The Kazekage is mine! The Lady Sage doesn't deserve him!"

"Especially since the Lady Sage is dressed like a freaking whore!" said a silver haired girl in a matching silver kimono as she pointed at Izuka.

"That's a bit uncalled for." said Izuka as she looked at Gaara

"Especially when you didn't even have a choice in your costume; you can blame Temari for that." said Gaara in an apologetic tone.

"Remind me to speak to her about my future costumes the next time I see her." said Izuka as she turned her attention towards the fan girls.

"Sure thing." answered Gaara as he too returned his gaze to the fan girls.

"Who's up for a little Kazekage chasing?" asked a redheaded girl in a pink kimono.

"ME!" chorused all the other fan girls in the group. The girls then started to stampede their way to Gaara and Izuka's position.

"What now?" asked Izuka as she watched the oncoming group come forward.

"Summon some sand to come our way and surround us. I'll do the same." said Gaara.

Izuka shook her head in understanding. She did a few hand signs and opened her eyes, which revealed that her eyes had shifted from her normal ice blue color to a bright yellow. Both she and Gaara raised one hand out. A cloud of sand appeared over one of the buildings in response to their actions. The sand swooped down and encircled the Lady Sage and Kazekage before dissipating, revealing that Gaara and Izuka had disappeared.

"Aw man!" wailed a girl in a black kimono. "They disappeared! Now what?"

"Anyone up for sushi at the new sushi restaurant down the block?" asked a second girl in a blue kimono curiously.

"WHY NOT?" chorused everyone else as they made their way down the block.

What a day indeed.

End of Spooky Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone if you haven't read the current Naruto chapters!**

"**American Idiot" belongs to Green Day.**

**Please review and vote on my poll.**

**BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUTS: Tomorrow, January 14, is Bleach's own Rukia Kuchiki's birthday! Happy B-Day Rukia!**


	9. Protectiveness and Kisses

Chapter 9: Protectiveness and Kisses

A small sand cloud started to fly over Suna, barely getting noticed by the many citizens that were still walking through the village streets. The sand cloud didn't land until it was right in front of the Sand Siblings' residence. As soon as it stopped on the porch, the sand cloud dissipated, revealing a tired Lady Sage and Kazekage.

"That took a lot of chakra didn't it?' asked Izuka as she took a deep breath.

"Yes it did. My fan girls are very troublesome when they see me. Sorry about all that Izuka." said Gaara apologetically as he fished around in his pocket for his house keys.

"No problem, I'm just really getting annoyed by your sister's choice of outfits for me." said Izuka as she scratched her wig.

"Don't forget to tell her about it." said Gaara as he unlocked the door.

"I won't." replied Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"By the way, your ability to use sand has really improved since the first time I saw you use it." said Gaara with a smirk as he opened the door.

"Well, I learned from the best." answered Izuka as she walked inside. Gaara walked in after her and closed the door behind him.

"Why thank you." answered Gaara as a slight blush appeared across his face.

"You're welcome and do you hear lips smacking?" asked Izuka as she turned to Gaara as they walked into the living room.

"Yeah I do and I think I know why." said Gaara as he pointed to the couch with an agitated look on his face.

Izuka followed his gaze to see Temari and Shikamaru embracing each other while kissing on the couch. Shopping bags were strewn around them on the floor.

"Rin, why do I feel annoyed?" whispered Gaara as he felt his eye twitch.

"That's probably your protective little brother instincts." said Izuka as she walked into the kitchen.

"Protective little brother instincts?" asked Gaara as he followed after his girlfriend.

"Yeah, protective little brother instincts. That feeling you're getting is protectiveness. That means you really care for Temari's welfare and happiness when it comes to some aspects of her life, like her relationship with Shikamaru." said Izuka as she bit into an apple she took from the fridge.

"Really? So do all siblings get this "instinct" when it comes to their siblings?" asked Gaara as he took a chocolate chip cookie out from the nearby cookie jar and took a bite from it.

"Yep; Kankuro probably gets the same feeling you just got when it comes to thinking about Shikamaru and Temari. So does Naruto when it comes to me and you." answered Izuka as she took another bite from her apple.

"He does?" asked Gaara as he finished his cookie and wiped the crumbs from his face.

Izuka nodded her head. "It happens in both boys and girls, but boys are known to show it more." said Izuka.

Before Gaara could reply, a loud slam was made by the front door. Loud footsteps ran in and stopped at the living room.

"Oh crap! Sis and Shika are playing tonsil hockey!" cried Kankuro.

A loud snap was heard from the room.

"Thank you for slapping him in the head with your boomerang Sango." said Temari.

"You're welcome Kagura!" exclaimed Matsuri. "Besides I was going to do it anyway to Miroku for not staying in character."

"Sorry!" exclaimed Kankuro sulkily.

"We better get out there before more carnage can ensue." said Izuka as she finished the last of her apple and threw it in the trash.

"We should." conceded Gaara as he followed Izuka out the kitchen.

The two walked into the living room to see Temari and Shikamaru looking pissed at Kankuro, who was rubbing his forehead where Matsuri hit him with the boomerang. Matsuri was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd did Sango go?" asked Izuka as she sat in a recliner.

"When did you two get here?" asked an incredulous Temari as she looked at the two younger teens.

"We arrived here less than half hour ago. We decided not to interrupt your little make out session." said Gaara blankly as he sat on one of the recliner's arms.

Temari blushed while Shikamaru just shrugged with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I'm right here Rin." said Matsuri as she walked down the stairs and into the living room with Kankuro's video camera in hand. "I had to get the video camera for the skit."

"But everyone's not here. Where's Inuyasha and Kagome?" asked Kankuro as he looked at a clock on the wall. "It's 6:55."

"My brother will probably be late again." said Gaara in a bored tone.

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound emanating from the front door.

"Well who could that be?' asked Kankuro sarcastically as he got up from his seat and went to the door. A few minutes later, he walked back into the living room followed by Hinata and Naruto.

"Where have you two been all day?" asked Shikamaru as he looked at the two curiously.

"Around" said Naruto and Hinata in unison as they sat on the couch next to the lazy one.

"Okay then. Now that we are all here, we can start the skit." said Matsuri as she walked over to the TV. She placed the camera on top of the machine and walked back over to the others.

"What do we do this time?" asked Hinata as she looked at the others.

"How about we just do improvisation for all the skits? Improvisation makes for the best comedy." suggested Kankuro.

"All in favor for improvisation say aye." said Temari. Everyone, including her, raised their hands.

"Improvisation it will be, Kagome, Inuyasha, how about you two start this skit?" suggested Temari as she stood up.

"Okay then." said Hinata. Naruto just nodded his head.

Everyone walked out of the living room and into either the hallway or the kitchen, leaving Naruto and Hinata in the living room.

"How about I walk in and I just stare at you?" suggested Naruto.

"Okay then?" said Hinata as she looked at Naruto curiously.

Naruto walked over to the video camera turned it on and walked in to the kitchen. After a few seconds passed, Naruto walked back into the room.

"Inuyasha, don't stare at me!" exclaimed Hinata as she looked at the dressed in red boy.

"Why not?" asked Naruto as he stared at the raven haired girl.

"When you stare at me, it's like you're staring at someone else. It's Kikyo isn't it?" asked Hinata as she crossed her arms.

"What? No! Maybe a little." answered Naruto.

"Osuwari!" exclaimed Hinata in the loudest voice she could muster.

Naruto instantly slammed himself face first into the floor. He picked his face up just in time to see Izuka walk into the room.

"Hi Rin!" exclaimed Hinata in a cheery tone.

"Hi Kagome! Why is Inuyasha on the ground like he's sniffing for food?" asked Izuka curiously.

"It's because I said Osuwari again." answered Hinata.

As soon as she spoke Osuwari, Naruto's face instantly hit the ground again.

"Maybe you should refrain from saying that." suggested Izuka as she sat down next to Hinata.

"Maybe I should." answered Hinata with a sheepish grin.

Gaara suddenly walked into the room from the kitchen.

"Hi big brother!" exclaimed Hinata with a grin.

Gaara gave her one of his signature cold looks.

"What did I do?" asked Hinata as she looked at Izuka.

"Sesshomaru-san isn't used to humans yet. He still thinks were inferior." said Izuka as she gave a shy look to Hinata.

"Except you Rin; he seems to care about you, a lot if you ask me." said Naruto as he finally picked his face up from the floor and returned to his seat.

"Really?" asked Izuka in curiosity as she looked at Naruto.

"Yep; he cares about you. Especially after how you've grown so much over the years." continued Naruto as he gave his sister a slight wink.

Izuka visibly blushed after figuring out the meaning of Naruto's words. She then looked at Gaara, who was also blushing.

"Osuwari!" exclaimed Hinata in annoyance.

Naruto went back to the ground.

"Sorry you guys." said Hinata apologetically as she turned to the others.

"It's okay." replied Izuka.

"Just don't let it happen again. My brother really needs to control that vulgar mouth of his." said Gaara as he sat next to Izuka.

"What are you saying brother?" asked Naruto threateningly as he eyed Gaara.

Before Gaara could answer, Matsuri walked into the living room dragging Kankuro right behind her.

"I promise to never hit on another girl Sango, now can you please release my robe?" asked Kankuro as the two stopped walking behind the couch.

"Let me see. No!" exclaimed Matsuri as she eyed the puppeteer.

"Miroku tried to hit on some village girls didn't he?" asked Hinata as she sweat dropped.

"Yes!" exclaimed Matsuri bluntly.

"You are that desperate aren't you?" asked Naruto

"I'm persistent, not desperate." said Kankuro with determination. He then turned to Izuka. "Rin, you've grown a lot over the years."

"I have?' asked Izuka in surprise.

"Indeed." said Kankuro as he grabbed Izuka's hand in his own. "Rin, would you do me the honor and bear my child?"

Gaara instantly walked up to Kankuro and bitch slapped him across the face. Naruto and Matsuri instantly laughed. Hinata and Izuka just stared.

"Was it something I said?" asked Kankuro as he rubbed his sore cheek.

"Don't you dare ask her to do something like that!" said Gaara in a cold tone.

"I see someone's a bit protective." said Naruto with a smirk.

"I am not." said Gaara with a glare.

"Yes you are." said Matsuri as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"No I'm not." said Gaara.

"Sesshomaru-san, do you like Rin?" asked Hinata curiously.

That questioned stopped Gaara cold in his tracks.

"I think he is Kagome. Sesshomaru likes Rin!" exclaimed Naruto in a cheerful tone.

"You can't deny it Sesshomaru-san. I can see it in your eyes." said Kankuro with a wink.

"Can you guys just leave it alone?" asked Gaara.

"Sesshomaru-san, do you like me?" asked Izuka as she looked at the white wigged Kazekage.

Gaara instantly regretted looking into those brown contacts Izuka was wearing.

"A little." Gaara finally said after a tense silence.

"Kiss her!" exclaimed Kankuro and Naruto.

"What?" asked an incredulous Gaara as he looked at the two.

"You heard us, kiss the girl!" said Naruto with a smirk.

"No!" said Gaara bluntly.

"Come on Sesshomaru. Don't deny your feelings for her." said Kankuro as he crossed his arms.

"Stop it you two! I won't fall for your peer pressure." said Gaara in a reprimanding tone.

"We'll stop if you just turn for us." said Naruto with a smirk.

"Why should I turn?" asked Gaara as he turned, which made him come face to face with Izuka, their faces barely inches apart from each other.

"Ugh Sesshomaru-san?" questioned Izuka as a visible blush appeared across her face.

"Rin?" asked Gaara with his own question.

"Just kiss her you fool!" exclaimed Matsuri out of impatience.

"Can you people stop pressu-"Gaara started to say, but was cut off as Izuka smashed her lips on his.

Everyone else held their breaths throughout the whole kiss and Gaara kept his eyes open the entire time. After a few seconds passed, Izuka broke the kiss and shyly looked away from Gaara.

"Rin, why did you"

"I'm sorry if you're angry with me Sesshomaru san!" exclaimed Izuka quickly as she looked at him apologetically.

"I'm not angry with you Rin." said Gaara with a blank face.

"You're not?' asked Izuka curiously.

"Not at all. I'm actually hoping to return the favor." said Gaara as he swiftly took Izuka's head in his hands and kissed her lips.

Naruto and Kankuro did wolf whistles while Matsuri and Hinata just said "Awww."

Gaara broke the kiss to look at the other four that were in the room. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry; will get out of your hair now." said Matsuri apologetically as she walked out of the living room while dragging Kankuro right behind her. Hinata did the same with Naruto.

"Now, where were we?" asked Gaara with a slight smirk.

Izuka let out a small giggle as Gaara reclaimed her lips with his own. While this was going on, Temari swiftly ran into the room and turned off the video camera.

"Great job everybody!" exclaimed Temari with a smile.

Izuka and Gaara broke their kiss to look at the eldest Sand Sibling.

"Where were you the whole time?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow.

"You see, technically Naraku and I are already dead, so."

"Is that your excuse for the fact you and Shikamaru played tonsil hockey in the kitchen for the whole skit?" asked Gaara as he let Izuka's face go.

"Sadly yes." answered Shikamaru.

"Shouldn't everybody else come out now?" asked Izuka as she and Gaara stood up.

"They would, but they're a little busy right now." said Shikamaru as he pointed to the hallway.

Everyone turned to see Kankuro and Matsuri and Naruto and Hinata kissing in the hallway. Naruto and Hinata were sharing a gentle kiss while Kankuro and Matsuri were tongue kissing.

"My student and my brother, oh the horror." complained Gaara as he walked into the kitchen.

"It is kind of disturbing." commented Izuka as she followed him.

"Should we join in?" asked Temari with a mischievous smirk.

"After we get this uploaded." said Shikamaru as he walked towards the stairs.

"Fine." said Temari as she followed after him.

End of Spooky Chapter 9

**A/N: Happy Birthday tomorrow, January 25, Minato Namikaze of Naruto. He was the Fourth Hokage for those who forgot.**


	10. The X-Men

Chapter 10: The X-Men

"Those bandits did what?" asked Kankuro as he dropped his fork onto his plate.

Everyone except Matsuri was gathered around the dining room table eating their breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon while Izuka and Gaara gave them the latest update of the accursed bandits.

"They burned down a village that was located along the trade route between Suna and Kiri. No one was killed, but there were a few that were wounded." said Gaara as he dropped a piece of his bacon into his mouth.

"What are you guys going to do?" asked Naruto as he wolfed down his waffles.

"We're not going to do anything until we discuss it with the council at today's meeting later." said Izuka as she took a bite of her scrambled eggs.

"Those bandits are twisted. I wonder what they want." commented Shikamaru as he took a bite of his food.

"Who knows?" asked Temari.

Suddenly, the faint sound of keys jingling and a door being swung open and then closed with a sharp thud was heard throughout the room.

"Hey guys!" exclaimed Matsuri as she entered the room and took a seat next to Hinata at the table.

"Matsuri, when did you get a key to our house?" asked Gaara as he raised an invisible eyebrow at his student.

"Kankuro gave it to me. He said it would be more convenient" answered Matsuri as she swiped a bacon strip from Kankuro's plate and swiftly ate it.

Kankuro nervously looked at Izuka, Temari, and Kankuro.

"We'll talk about this later." said Temari with a frown.

"Anyway, I came with today's edition of the Suna Times." said Matsuri as she revealed the newspaper and laid it out on the table. She opened it to reveal the poll page.

The results were as followed: Gaara as Sesshomaru received 30% of the vote, Naruto as Inuyasha and Izuka as Rin both got 20% of the vote, Hinata as Kagome got 10% of the vote, Kankuro as Miroku and Matsuri as Sango each got 7% of the vote, and Temari as Kagura and Shikamaru as Naraku both got 3% of the vote.

"Looks like the citizens of Suna really do not like the bad guys of Inuyasha." commented Shikamaru as he ate a slice of bacon.

"Apparently" agreed Temari with a scowl. She turned to Gaara. "Congrats little brother, you won again."

"Thank you sis. Now what is today's costume theme?" asked Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"Nothing gets by you brother." said Temari as she took out a slip of paper from her pajama shirt's pocket.

Temari looked around the table before speaking again. "I have decided to move away from anime themes for a while to another place for costume inspiration. Marvel comics to be exact."

"Where's this going?" questioned Kankuro as he eyed his sister.

"Basically, what I'm trying to say is that today, we are going to dress up like some of the members of the X-Men." said Temari with a clap of her hand.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Naruto with a grin.

Temari turned to her young redheaded brother.

"Gaara, you will be Cyclops, the guy that can shoot red beams out of his eyes." said Temari with a grin.

"Does that mean I have to wear that weird eye visor all day?" asked Gaara.

Temari shook her head yes.

"Aw crap." said Gaara with a shrug. Everyone got a good chuckle out of that one.

"Hinata, you will be Jean Grey, but as her Phoenix form." said Temari as she looked at the Hyuga.

"That's . . . different." commented Hinata.

"Well, at least we will know whether you look good with red hair or not." added Matsuri.

"Good point." said Hinata.

"Izuka, you'll be Emma Frost, the telepath with the icy cold demeanor." said Temari.

"Hold up. Am I going to have to wear another risqué outfit?" asked Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Not really, unless you don't mind showing a little bit of your cleavage for today." said Temari as she pointed to Izuka's full chest. It wasn't as big as Temari's, but it was big enough to be noticeable by the public.

"Temari, remember, we're all still under the age of 18." said Gaara as he looked at his sister.

"Don't be acting so responsible and coy, Gaara. We all know that you've actually been liking the fact I've been putting Izuka in these semi risqué costumes these past few days." said Temari with a smirk.

Gaara said nothing, but his face actually blushed a slight shade of red.

"Sis, I think you're right." said Kankuro with a smirk which made Gaara blush an even deeper shade of red.

"Why do you torture them so much?" asked Naruto as he looked at the two elder Sand Siblings.

"Because it's fun." said Kankuro. "Why don't you join in Naruto."

"Unlike you, I know when I am outmatched. Besides, if I even try to torment Izuka at least once, she'll burn my ramen supply." said Naruto as he leaned back into his chair and seni Izuka a wayward look.

Temari only shook her head before turning to Kankuro.

"Kankuro, you will be Beast."

"Sweet, chicks dig the blue fur." said Kankuro as he fist pumped in the air.

"Really?" asked an irked Matsuri as she stared at the puppeteer with cold eyes.

"Nothing sweetheart. I didn't mean what I said." said a slightly scared Kankuro.

"You better have." mumbled Matsuri as she looked away from him.

"Are you two done with your little dispute?" asked Shikamaru as he looked at the two.

"Just ignore us." said Matsuri as she looked at Kankuro with annoyed eyes.

"Matsuri, you will be Shadowcat, the girl that can walk through inanimate objects."

"Perfect." said Matsuri with a grin.

Shikamaru and Naruto exchanged unsure looks with each other as soon as they saw Matsuri's grinned.

"Naruto, you will be Wolverine."

"I can do that." said Naruto with a shrug.

"Shikamaru, you will be Gambit." said Temari with a smile.

"Oh great. I get to be the guy that can manipulate kinetic energy and use playing cards as a weapon and speak with a Cajun accent." said Shikamaru as he finished his orange juice.

"You can already manipulate shadows, so that shouldn't be hard for you to pull off." said Kankuro with a smirk.

"You are seriously not helping." commented Shikamaru as he closed his eyes.

"Who are you going to be Temari?" asked Hinata as she looked at the wind mistress.

"I'm going to be Rogue." said Temari with a smirk.

"You do know that means you're stuck wearing gloves all day and cannot have any physical contact with anyone else right?" asked Izuka as she raised a blonde eyebrow at the elder girl.

"Oh shittttttttttttttttt." whined Temari.

"Someone can't touch Shika." said Naruto with a laugh.

"Oh shut up!" exclaimed Temari. "The costumes are all on the table in the living room. Grab the one you're assigned and get ready. We'll meet at the front door within the hour before we leave out for the day."

Everyone nodded their heads and put away their dishes before walking out to the living room to get their costumes and get ready for the fourth day of the festival.

* * *

**50 minutes later**

Gaara was the first to finish getting ready for the day and was currently waiting for the others. He was wearing a yellow and dark blue body suit that even covered his red hair with matching boots. The visor was already on his face.

Gaara groaned and looked at his reflection in a nearby mirror. Thanks to his visor, his vision was colored ruby red.

"This is going to get annoying before the day is even over." complained Gaara as he turned to the door.

"How so?" asked Izuka as she walked down the stairs.

"Well considering that my vision is the color of rubies, it's going to be one red day for me." said Gaara as he turned to the blonde girl. His jaw almost dropped, again.

Izuka's long blonde hair was out of its braids and cascaded down her back. She was wearing an ice white long sleeved crop top that showed her bare shoulders and slight cleavage that also had a sown in icy white cape and matching icy white gloves. She also wore a pair of icy white pants with matching boots. In order to match with the rest of her costume, her amulet shifted from its purple flower for to its ice form, an ice blue I shaped crystal.

"Izuka?" questioned Gaara as he took a step forward.

"Call me Emma." said Izuka as she walked closer to the redhead. "What do you think?"

"You are so going to give your fan boys nosebleeds when they see you in this costume." commented Gaara as he looked over Izuka.

"So much head trauma, so little time." said Izuka with a shrug. "As for you, with the visor and your hair being covered, you almost look unrecognizable."

"I do?" asked Gaara.

Izuka shook her head yes. "The only thing that could indicate that you are you is the fact that the kanji on your head is still slightly showing."

"I see." said Gaara as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"See what?" asked Kankuro as he walked down the stairs.

"That Gaara looks almost unrecognizable in his costume and damn Kankuro you are so blue!" exclaimed Izuka as she looked at the puppeteer.

Gaara turned to look at his brother and commented. "Well look at that, I see red and you are blue."

Kankuro was dressed in a blue body suit covered in blue fur. He wore dark blue and yellow pants and no shoes. His chest was bare except for the body suit covering it. He wore blue face paint that covered his whole face. He also wore a blue wig with matching blue side burns.

"Ah, Emma, Cyclops, I see that you two are already ready for today's council meeting." commented Kankuro as he walked over to the two.

"So are you Hank. Tell me, what's better, math or science?" asked Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"I'm going to have to go with math. It is the root of knowledge after all." said Kankuro with a shrug.

"Please don't tell me that Dr. Hank is saying math related again." whined Matsuri as she joined the others.

Matsuri was wearing a yellow and dark blue body suit with matching yellow gloves and boots and a red belt with the X-Men logo as its buckle. She was also wearing a shoulder length brunette wig.

"You may learn something from my intellect if you just listen to me Shadowcat." said Kankuro with a grin.

"Whatever." commented Matsuri as she looked away from him.

"What's going on in here?" asked Naruto as he walked in to the foyer, followed by Hinata.

Naruto was wearing the full yellow and blue suit and mask with retractable claws. There was some black hair peeking out from under his mask, indicating that he was wearing a black wig. He also had some slight fake stubble along his jawline.

Hinata was wearing a green body suit with a yellow belt, gloves, and boots. She was also wearing a bright orange red wig.

"Beast and Shadowcat are having a math dispute." said Gaara as he looked at the two. "So that's what you look like with red hair Jean."

"It's a totally different look for me." said Hinata as she looked at the ground.

"Just be glad it's just for the day." said Izuka as she looked at the door.

"Quick question, who's the better telepath?" asked Kankuro with a smirk.

"Me!" exclaimed Izuka and Hinata in unison. They both looked at each other in surprise before scowling at each other.

"Thanks a lot Hank. You got them mad at each other, again." said Naruto with a groan.

"Once you ask two telepaths who is better between the two, then it's all down here from there." said Gaara with a sigh.

"Why are you guys even arguing about who is better. I'm better than all of you." said Temari as she joined the others.

Temari was dressed in a yellow and green body suit with a brown leather jacket on top. She was also wearing a long brown and white wig over her hair.

"And why do you say that Rogue?" asked Shikamaru in a very good Cajun accent.

Shikamary was wearing a shoulder length brunette wig, a purple shirt, black pants, light gray boots, and a long brown trench coat. He held a pack of playing cards in one hand and a silver rod in the other.

"My mutant ability is absorbing the abilities and memories of others and using them as my own." said Temari bluntly.

"Yep, she got us beat." said Matsuri as she opened the door and walked out the house. The others followed suit.

End of chapter 10

**A/n: Please review.**

**All X-Men references belong to Marvel.**

**Birthday Reminder: Tomorrow is Bleach's own Shukuro Tsukishima's birthday, February 4.**


	11. Before Another Meeting

Chapter 11: Before Another Meeting

After everyone left the Sand Siblings' residence, Gaara, Izuka, Temari, and Kankuro all made their way to the Kazekage tower for the council meeting. They were met with plenty of compliments and cat calls, especially from the male population. Their comments were directed to Izuka and Temari.

"Looking good Lady Sage!" called a young teenage boy dressed like a dalmation.

"Nice Rogue costume Lady Temari!" called another guy dressed like Bruce Lee as his friend who was dressed like Jackie Chan ogled Izuka's body, much to Gaara's chagrin.

"Thanks boys!" called Temari with a grin as she waved at the two.

"Don't encourage them Rogue." said Izuka in an annoyed tone as she crossed her arms.

"Why shouldn't I? After today, people have to give me a lot more votes for my costume. I want to break your's and Gaara's winning streak." said Temari with a smirk.

"Good luck with that." said Gaara with a scowl.

"Emma, you do know that when you cross your arms, you are kind of enhancing your, uh, chest area." said Kankuro a little uncertain as he stared at the blond.

"Hank, have you been staring at my chest?" asked Izuka bluntly as she gave the blue puppeteer a cold look. Gaara gave Kankuro a cold look of his own.

"Don't even try giving me a cold look Cyclops." said Kankuro as he pointed to Gaara. "Thanks to that visor you're wearing, you can give me all the cold looks you want, but they won't work on me."

"Damn it!" cursed Gaara under his breath as he turned his head forward.

"To answer your question Emma, yes I was staring at your chest, ONLY after you decided to cross your arms. They are a little distracting since you are wearing the tight outfit. And I think those village boys would happily agree with me." said Kankuro as he pointed to a group of guys dressed like fireman standing in front of a soda shop.

The firemen dressed boys were all staring straight at Izuka, well her chest to be more specific. Izuka soon realized this and instantly brought her hands back down to her sides. Gaara instantly glared at the guys. Some took the hint instantly and looked away, while some took their time to get in one last look at Izuka's chest before turning away.

"Rogue, you better" started Izuka but Temari cut her off.

"I'm not going to let you choose your own costumes as long as this festival is going on." said Temari bluntly as she continued to look straight ahead.

"Why?" Izuka practically whined.

"Remember the last time we played poker? I won and the stipulation was that whoever won the poker match would be able to do one thing to the other for a whole month." said Temari.

"And you're cashing in your win by dressing Izuka in these costumes you picked for her for the whole month-long festival?" asked Gaara.

"Yep!" answered Temari with a smirk.

"I have no other comment for that." said Gaara as he stared at his sister.

"Don't you mean you have no other complaints about the costumes Izuka has been made to wear for the festival because you secretly like them?" asked Kankuro in a perverted tone of voice.

Gaara blushed while Izuka and Temari both slapped Kankuro upside his head.

"I know, I know. I deserved that." said Kankuro as he rubbed his sore temples.

"Well I see my enemies are making their way to the meeting as I speak." commented a mysterious new voice from behind the group

The four teens all turned around to see Baki and Mibiku dressed in their own X-Men themed costumes. Baki was dressed as Magneto while Mibiku was dressed as Charles Xavier. He even was sitting in his own wheelchair and was wearing a bald cap and shaved off his beard.

"I can't believe you shaved off the beard!" exclaimed Kankuro as he looked at Mibiku's clean shaven face.

"I'm that dedicated." said Mibiku as he brushed himself off.

"Where'd you get the wheelchair?" asked Izuka as she pointed to the mobile seat that Mibiku was sitting in.

"I know I guy who works at the general hospital in northeastern Suna. He hooked me up with the wheelchair and the bald cap." said Mibiku with a shrug.

"So you're not really bald?" asked Kankuro as he stared wide eyed at the fake crippled elder in the wheelchair. Everyone gave him "Are you fucking serious?" stares.

"What? I figured since he said he shaved his beard for the sake of the costume that he shaved his hair for it to." answered Kankuro as he raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm dedicated, but not that dedicated Hank." answered Mibiku with a stunned look on his face.

"This isn't a smart moment for you Hank." commented Gaara as he looked at his brother.

"Oh shut up Cyclops." said Kankuro with a wave of his hand.

"Actually, for a while I almost thought that it wasn't you Kazekage-sama." said Baki as he crossed his arms.

"Really?" asked Gaara.

"I almost didn't recognize you myself. If it wasn't for your kanji showing slightly on your forehead, I would have thought you were just an acquaintance of the others." said Mibiku with a shy grin.

"I see." commented Gaara as he looked around the street at the various costume wearing citizens.

"Magneto, aren't you hot under that helmet?" asked Temari as she pointed to the helmet on Baki's head.

"Not really. When you've worn the standard Sand shinobi turban on your head for as long as I have, you get used to it." said Baki with a shrug.

"Wow, you must be that old!" exclaimed Kankuro with a shocked expression on his face.

Everyone gave him deadpanned looks.

"What?" asked Kankuro as he looked around the group.

"You are really not representing Beast well right now Kankuro." commented Izuka in an annoyed tone.

"You're bringing Hank McCoy's memory to shame brother." added Temari.

"Well, look at the time. We better get to that council meeting." said Kankuro as he awkwardly scratched his head before running straight down the street to the Tower.

"What an idiot." said Gaara bluntly as he started to walk after him.

"You can say that again." said Izuka as she walked by Gaara's side.

"Um guys?" called Mibiku, gaining back everyone's attention.

"What?" asked Temari a tad curiously.

"Mind giving a crippled old man a hand?" asked Mibiku as he gestured to the wheelchair he was in.

"Sure thing. Magneto can give your old friend a hand. We'd appreciate it." said Temari with a grin as she walked away, following Izuka and Gaara who were already down the street.

Mibiku turned to Baki, who sighed in defeat. "Fine." said Baki as he walked behind Mibiku's wheelchair and started to push the man to the Kazekage Tower.

"Those kids seriously don't know how to respect their elders." complained Mibiku with a grunt.

"Now you sound like a typical grandpa Mibiku." complained Baki. He was soon hit in the head with a wooden cane.

"OWW!" exclaimed Baki as he rubbed his nose. "Mibiku, what's with the random wooden cane?" asked Baki.

"It's for when I have to shut up whiners and complainers like you Magneto. Now push me to the dang building or else I'll hit you with my cane again!" exclaimed Mibiku as he held his cane threateningly at Baki's face.

"Fine! Don't get your knickers in a twist Xavier!" said Baki as he continued to push Mibiku down the street to the Kazekage Tower, while secretly, Ryu was filming the whole scene from a nearby rooftop.

"Wait till the guys see this!" squealed Ryu as she flew home back to the Sand Siblings residence.

End of Spooky Chapter 11

**A/N: Please review. I consider this a filler chapter.**


	12. During the Meeting

Chapter 12: During the Meeting

Gaara, Izuka, Temari, and Ryu all walked into the Kazekage Tower while Baki wheeled Mibiku up the wheelchair ramp into the tower. Somehow, the group got Mibiku up the stairs while he was sitting in his wheelchair the whole time up and were now walking down the hallway to the meeting room.

"Why couldn't you get off the chair and walk? It would have made moving this wheelchair up the stairs much easier." whined Kankuro as the group walked down the hallway.

Mibiku instantly whacked the puppeteer with his cane.

"OWWW!" yelled Kankuro as he rubbed his shoulder.

"That was for complaining, Hank!" exclaimed Mibiku with a grin. "And to answer your earlier question, it's quite simple. I'm portraying a powerful telepath who is paralyzed from the waist down. It wouldn't look realistic if I upped and walked around dressed like this would it?"

"You make a good point." concluded Kankuro with a shrug.

"He has you beat on that one Beast." commented Gaara, who spoke for the first time in a while.

"You are seriously not helping Cyclops." commented Kankuro with a scowl.

"I wasn't trying to." commented Gaara in return.

Kankuro's frown deepened and he turned away from his brother. The group became silent as the sounds of giggling began to resonate from the nearby meeting room.

"Is it just me or is there laughter coming from the usually serious meeting room?" asked Temari as she pointed to the door.

"It's not just you." said Izuka as she shook her head.

"I wonder what the council members are laughing at." commented Baki as he gave the door a curious look.

"Why don't we find out then?" asked Kankuro as he opened the door and walked into the room. Everyone else followed after him.

The group walked in to see the other costume-wearing council members crowding over one particular member holding a red laptop.

"What are you guys watching?" asked Gaara as he crossed his arms.

The group looked up to see Baki, Mibiku, the Lady Sage, and the Sand Siblings all giving them curious looks.

"Where's the Kazekage?" asked the council member holding the laptop, who was also dressed like the Phantom from "The Phantom of the Opera".

"He's right here." said Izuka with an eyebrow raised as she pointed to Gaara, who was standing right next to her. "You seriously don't recognize him?"

"The visor is really obscuring his face. You can barely recognize him except for the small tuft of vivid red hair and the traces of his kanji peeking out from his mask." commented a second council member, who was dressed like a samurai.

Gaara and Izuka exchanged looks before turning their attention back to the council members.

"What are you guys looking at on the laptop?" asked Kankuro as he pointed to said laptop in question.

"We're watching the newest video that Ryu uploaded to her YouTube page." answered the Phantom dressed council member.

"When was it uploaded?" asked Izuka as she walked over to the group.

"Just a few minutes ago; it already has 5,000 hits." said the council member. "Mibiku, Baki, you guys are the stars of the show."

"We are?" asked Baki and Mibiku in unison, both a tad confused.

"See for yourselves." said the samurai clad council member as he pressed the play button on the website.

The group watched as the video of Mibiku and Baki appeared. There was no dialogue, but the actions were louder than words as the video showed Mibiku whacking away at Baki in attempt to get him to push his wheelchair. The title of the video "Xavier Knocks Some Sense Into Magneto, FINALLY!"

"I'm never going to live that down." said Baki with an embarrassed look on his face as everyone else laughed at his Baki, except Gaara, who kept a straight face.

"We can laugh at Baki's expense later. Right now, we have a council meeting to start." said Gaara as he walked over to his seat.

Everyone stopped their laughing and walked over to their respective seats. Gaara looked at everyone's expectant and anxious faces before speaking.

"There is only one thing to discuss during this meeting today, and I guess you all know what that is." said Gaara as he wove his fingers together.

"Those bandits must be stopped!" exclaimed a council member who was dressed like a Japanese geisha.

"Why would they move from attacking the trade routes between us and Kirigakure to burning down an entire town?" asked a second council member who was dressed like PSY.

"I don't know, but we should at least be thankful that the bandits didn't kill anyone in that town." said Mibiku as he crossed his arms.

"What is going on with these bandits? Do you think they are planning something?" asked a third council member who was dressed like a war general.

"Who knows? Their attack on that village was in the northeastern part of the Wind Country, but our trade routes are in the southeastern part of the country." said Baki with a glum look.

"Are you sure they are even the same bandits?" asked Temari with a curious look.

"Positive. All the attacks have been marked with a common symbol of a tiger with a viper in its mouth. It can only be the same group of bandits." replied Baki with an exasperated look to his face.

"I wonder what that symbol means." said Kankuro with a scowl.

"That's what we're going to find out. Baki, assemble a small task force of at least 6 jonin and travel to that village. See what you can find out about that group of bandits and report back to me or Izuka with your findings." said Gaara with a sharp look sent his way.

"Will do Lord Kazekage-san." said Baki with a bow.

"Mibiku, assemble a task force of 6 jonin of your own and travel with the next supply caravan to Kirigakure. Report back anything you find." said Gaara as he turned to the man in the wheelchair.

"Yes sir!" said Mibiku in a serious tone of voice.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss before we adjourn this meeting?" asked Gaara as he looked around the table.

Everyone shook their heads, satisfied with what happened so far.

"Alright then; meeting adjourned." said Gaara as he stood up from his seat and walked out the door.

"I hope we can solve this bandit problem before it reaches Suna." said Baki as he got up from his chair and walked over to Mibiku.

"I hope so too. If those bandits actually do make their way here to Suna, it just won't be good for the village." said Mibiku as he and Baki left the room.

The other council members all stood up from their seats and slowly walked out the room, leaving Temari, Kankuro, and Izuka in the room.

"What do we do now?" asked Kankuro as he scratched his cheek.

"All we can do now is wait until we get the info we need about those bandits. Hopefully we can get this bandit problem resolved sooner rather than later." said Temari as she stood up from her seat and stretched out her hands.

"We have no choice." concluded Kankuro as he too got up from his chair.

The two Sand Siblings soon turned their gazes to Izuka, who was still sitting at her seat.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Kankuro as he looked at the blonde girl.

"I'll catch up to you guys in a little while." said Izuka as she looked at them with unsure eyes.

"Okay then. Whatever you say. We'll see you later." said Temari with a wave of her hand as she and Kankuro walked out the door, leaving Izuka to her thoughts.

"Tiger with a viper in its mouth, now where have I seen that before?" Izuka whispered to the table as she stared at it intently.

Izuka was so wound up in her thoughts that she never noticed Gaara reenter the room. He silently walked over to stand behind her chair and placed his gloved hands on her shoulders, startling the blonde.

"Jumpy aren't we?" he asked with a slight smirk evident in his tone.

"Very funny!" said Izuka sarcastically as she got up from her seat and turned to face the costumed Kazekage.

"How about we go out to eat for lunch?" asked Gaara, a little bit of nervousness in his monotone voice.

"Just you and me? Like on a date? An actual date?" asked Izuka as she gave him a confused look.

"Yes; since you are technically my girlfriend, we should be allowed to go on a date once in a while considering our high status." said Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"You're only saying this because you realized that with the visor and costume on, you look virtually unrecognizable to the public and to your fan girls." said Izuka with a smirk.

"Do you want to go out with me or not?" asked Gaara bluntly in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Yes I do. Who wouldn't want to go out on a date with the Kazekage of Sunagakure?" said Izuka in a playful tone of voice.

"I'm not going to answer that question." said Gaara as he outstretched his hand. "Shall we?"

Izuka let a small smile escape her lips as she looked at Gaara's outstretched hand. She then took it in her own. "Let's!"

Gaara smirked at the blonde as the two walked out the door and into the hallway, ready to enjoy each other's company hand in hand

End of chapter 12

**A/N: Please review**

**Birthdays**

**February 27: Cirucci Sandewicci (Bleach)**

**February 29: Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)**


	13. After the Meeting

Chapter 13: After the Meeting

Gaara and Izuka walked out of the Kazekage Tower hand-in-hand. They walked onto the street and traversed a few blocks full of costume-wearing citizens to a small café a few blocks east of the tower.

"This seems like a nice place." said Izuka as the two walked over to a table for two in the back of the café.

"Plus it's not that busy." added Gaara as he held out Izuka's chair for her.

"Why thank you Cyclops." said Izuka with a smirk as she sat down in her seat.

"You're welcome Ms. Frost." said Gaara with a smirk of his own as he took the seat opposite her.

"You don't have to be so formal with me. Call me Emma." said Izuka as she picked up her menu.

"Sure thing Emma, and you may call me Scott." said Gaara as he picked up his own menu.

The two looked over their menus till a male waiter dressed like Batman walked over to them.

"Hello, I'm Batman. Are you ready to order?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"Not yet. You Emma?" asked Gaara as he gestured to the blonde girl.

"Not really, but can I get a ginseng tea please?" she asked as she continued to look through the menu.

"Certainly my lady, and you?" Batman asked Gaara.

"I'll just have a glass of water." said Gaara as he looked at the waiter in time to see him staring at Izuka with a small smirk playing on his face.

"A ginseng tea and a glass of water, coming right up." said Batman as he wrote the order on his notepad and scurried away to the kitchen area.

Gaara let out an annoyed huff and went back to reading through his menu.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Izuka as she looked up from her menu to see Gaara with a scowl on his face.

"I just didn't like the way that waiter was looking at you, that's all." answered Gaara as he closed his menu book.

"Don't worry about it. He probably thinks that he can get away with it because he thinks that you're not here. Your costume has made you completely invisible to the public." said Izuka with a smirk.

"If you say so." said Gaara in a tired tone as he looked around the oasis theme café.

"Don't worry about these kinds of things." said Izuka as she took hold of Gaara's hand on the table. "I only have eyes for you."

"Now that's reassuring to know." said Gaara as he let his smirk appear on his face again.

"Excuse me." called a small voice from behind Izuka.

Izuka and Gaara broke their holds on each other's hands to face the voice. The voice came from a small brunette girl who looked to be around five or six and dressed in a Cheshire Cat costume.

"May we help you?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow at the small girl.

"May I have your autograph?" asked the small girl as she held out a blank piece of paper and a black pen.

Izuka let a small smile appear across her face as she took the paper and pen from the child. "Why certainly. Who should I write this out to?"

"Fujina." answered the small girl as she nervously looked at the ground.

"Alright then." answered Izuka as she scribbled her signature on to the paper. When she was done, she handed the pen and paper back to the girl.

"Thank you!" cried the girl in complete joy. She then walked over to Gaara's side of the table and held out her pen and paper to him.

"How'd you know?" asked Gaara with a smirk as he took the pen and paper from the girl.

"You two holding hands gave your identity away." answered the little girl.

"Just don't tell anyone okay?" replied Gaara.

"Okay." answered Fujina as she looked at him expectantly.

Gaara signed his autograph on to the paper and handed it to Fujina. She slightly bowed in gratitude and walked over to another table where a lone woman who was also dressed like a cat sat.

"Who else do you think have guessed my identity?" asked Gaara as he wove his fingers together.

"Who knows? Only time will tell." said Izuka as she brought her attention over to the kitchen area to see the Batman-dressed waiter walking over to them with their drinks on a platter.

"Alright, I have one glass of water for you sir and a ginseng tea my lady." said the waiter as he placed the drinks on the table.

"Thank you." said Izuka and Gaara in unison as they handed the waiter their menus.

"Are you two ready to order now?" asked the waiter as he put the menus in his black apron's pocket and took out his pen and notepad.

"Yes; I'll have the fried fish with rice dumplings." said Izuka as the waiter wrote down her order.

"And you sir?" asked the waiter as he turned to Gaara.

"I'll have the salted gizzard tongue with rice dumplings." said Gaara as he gave the waiter a blank stare.

"Alright then. I'll be right back with your orders in a little while." said the waiter as he walked back to the kitchen.

"Scott, this place has started to fill up over the past few minutes." commented Izuka as she looked around the café.

Gaara looked around the café to see that the place was almost filled to capacity. And there were still more people trying to come in.

"This place is either really popular among the citizens of Suna or they must all want to eat a late lunch." commented Gaara as he returned his attention back to Izuka.

"Might as well hide while I still can." commented Izuka as she took out an intricate silver mask that only covered her eyes and put it on her face.

"If I remember correctly, Emma Frost never wore a mask in the comics." said Gaara with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"I know, but I figured I would take the mask with me just in case I wasn't in the mood to be recognized in public." said Izuka with a shrug as she wove her fingers together.

"A wise decision on your part Emma." said Gaara as he observed the waiter walk over to them with their orders on a platter.

"Why thank you Scott." said Izuka with a grin as the waiter placed their orders in front of them, along with their utensils.

"Enjoy!" said the waiter as he walked off to pay a visit to another table.

Izuka and Gaara unwrapped their chopsticks and dug into their food. They ate their meal in complete silence, no longer in the mood to make decent conversation. When they finished their meals, they pushed their plates away from themselves and lay back in their chairs.

"That was delicious." commented Izuka as she looked at the ceiling.

"We have to visit here more often." said Gaara as he looked out into the café.

"We can bring the others here for lunch sometime." said Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Or we can just make it "our" place, if you know what I mean." said Gaara as he looked at the Lady Sage expectantly.

"I like the sound of that." said Izuka as she smirked at the Kazekage.

The Batman dressed waiter soon walked over to them and claimed their plates. He handed Gaara the check and walked off.

"How much did the meal cost?" asked Izuka as she took out her wallet.

"30 yen." said Gaara as he closed the check book.

"How about we split the check evenly? You pay 15 yen and I'll pay 15 yen." suggested Izuka as she took out 15 yen from her purple wallet.

"Fair enough." said Gaara as he took out his black leather wallet and took 15 yen out from the small case. He left a decent tip for the waiter as well.

Taking Izuka's hand in his own, Gaara guided her out of the café and back onto the hot village street.

"What time is?" asked Izuka as the two started to walk into downtown Suna.

"A little after three, we have a lot more time to kill than I thought." said Gaara as he looked up at the bright blue sky.

"How about we just walk around for a while?" suggested Izuka as she started to look around the street. "The others aren't expecting us to be back at the house until six thirty."

"That's actually not a bad idea." said Gaara as the two turned a corner. "Shall we Lady Sage?"

"Let's Lord Kazekage." said Izuka with a cheeky smile.

Gaara let a smirk escape his lips as the two made their way further down the sunny streets of Sunagakure.

**A/N: Please review!**


	14. A Paranoid Phoenix

Chapter 14: A Paranoid Phoenix

For the next couple of hours, Izuka and Gaara strolled through the streets of Sunagakure. The two were completely invisible to the public since they were both wearing masks that helped hide their identities.

Currently, it was 6:15 in the afternoon and Izuka and Gaara were still walking hand in hand through one of the busy streets of Suna on their way home.

"Well this has been a fun day." commented Izuka as she watched the patrons of Suna stroll through the streets.

"It has been eventful." added Gaara as the two turned onto their street.

"What's been the highlight for you today?" asked Izuka as she looked at the houses that lined the street.

"Probably the "Harlem Shake" flash mob at the square. That was surprising." said Gaara as he put a loose strand of Izuka's blonde hair behind her ear.

"I didn't think Mibiku could bust a move like that." added Izuka. "He was dancing so much, but still stayed in character by not moving his legs."

"I know. I thought he would jump up and break dance any second." said Gaara as he saw that the two were closing in on the house.

"Mibiku break dancing? It's possible." said Izuka as they walked onto the property.

"What about you? What was your highlight of the day?" asked Gaara as the two walked up the steps.

"I would have to say when we passed the training grounds next to the Academy and we saw the girls beat the boys in dodgeball." said Izuka with a smirk as she took out her keys.

"That was an unfair game." replied Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"Why? Because the boys were distracted by the costumes the girls were wearing?" asked Izuka as she turned the lock and opened the door.

"That's exactly it." said Gaara as he walked inside the house after Izuka.

"It's the boys' fault for being distracted in the first place." said Izuka in protest as the two walked down the hallway and into the living room to find everyone else waiting for them. Naruto was holding the video camera in his hand.

"Where have you two been?" asked Temari as she raised an eyebrow at the two.

Gaara and Izuka looked at each other before answering her question.

"Around." they answered in unison.

"Did you guys happen to see the "Harlem Shake" flash mob they did in the square? It already has 7,500 views on YouTube." said Kankuro as he watched the video on his laptop. "Man that Mibiku knows how to bust a move."

"You're telling us." said Izuka as she sat down next to Hinata.

"Emma, you're not known for wearing a mask in the comics." commented Matsuri as she looked at the small mask adorning Izuka's face.

"I forgot I had this on." said Izuka as she removed her mask. "To answer your question Shadowcat, I was wearing this mask to hide my "real" identity, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I get it." said Matsuri in a sly voice.

"Okay then, since Cyclops and Emma were the last ones to arrive back here at the house, they should be the first to start off the video." said Naruto as he placed the video camera on top of the TV after turning it on.

"Fair enough." said Gaara as he took a seat on the recliner.

Everyone except Izuka and Gaara got up from their seats and walked out of the room. Izuka turned to Gaara with a curious look.

"Cyclops, who's the most powerful telepath in the world?" she asked him, completely taking him by surprise.

"Professor Xavier of course." answered Gaara as he stared at the blonde in white.

"Let me rephrase my question, who do you think is the better telepath: me or Jean?" asked Izuka again as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh . . ." said Gaara, completely dumbfounded by the question.

"Answer the question and I will put you in a vegetative state Scott!" called Hinata as she walked in from the kitchen.

"Jean!" exclaimed Gaara as he turned to face her. "Where have you been?"

"Exploring the Solar System." answered Hinata as she crossed her arms.

"Oh . . . I bet that was nice." commented Gaara as he turned away from Hinata.

"So Emma, I see you want Scott's opinion on who is the better telepath between me and you." she said as she pointed a finger accusingly at Izuka.

"I'm just asking an honest question. That's all." said Izuka as she stood up from her seat.

"Oh really; and I bet you weren't planning to change Scott's mind by manipulating his brain to say you if he said a name other than you the first time around." said Hinata as she narrowed her eyes at her.

"I wasn't planning on doing that at all." said Izuka in a pleading tone.

"Calm down Phoenix. You are just being paranoid." said Gaara in a tired tone.

"So now you think I'm paranoid." cried Hinata as she placed her hands on her hips. and looked at Gaara like he was mad.

'Eh, what's going on here?" asked Shikamaru in a Cajun accent as he and Temari walked into the room kitchen.

"Phoenix is being paranoid . . . again." answered Izuka as she sat back down in her chair.

"I'm not being paranoid!" yelled Hinata as she looked at the two.

'Sounds like you are." commented Matsuri as she and Naruto walked in from the hallway.

'I'M NOT! Logan, you believe me right?" asked Hinata as she turned to Naruto.

"Actually, ever since you gained the Phoenix Force, you have been kinda out of it." said Naruto as he awkwardly scratched his head.

"So . . . you're all against me. I know! Hank! He can prove to you all that I'm not paranoid," cried Hinata in complete joy.

"Someone called my name?" asked Kankuro as he walked in from the kitchen eating a Twinkie.

"Hank, do you think I'm paranoid/' asked Hinata as everyone turned to him.

"Why do you ask that?" asked Kankuro as he finished his Twinkie.

"Emma here asked who I thought between her and Jean was the better telepath. Then this happened and that happened and it has led to us thinking that Jean is paranoid." answered Gaara.

'I'M NOT PARANOID!" Hinata practically yelled.

"Yes you are Jean." replied Kankuro bluntly as he stared at her.

That answer stopped Hinata dead in her tracks.

"Even you think I'm paranoid Hank?" asked Hinata in a small voice.

"Ever since you've gained the Phoenix Force, half the time you're incoherent while the other half is just you being plain evil and crazy. To tell you the truth, Emma is more stable, making her the better telepath." answered Kankuro in a stoic and scholarly voice.

"I'll just leave now!" exclaimed Hinata bluntly as she walked over to the hallway. "You win this time Emma, but you will not win again. NEVER AGAIN!" called Hinata as she left the room.

"That was weird." said Izuka as she looked at the hallway entrance. "Who's up for Twinkies?"

"Me!" exclaimed everyone except Kankuro as they followed her to the kitchen, leaving Kankuro in the room.

"I'll just work on world peace or something." he mumbled as he walked over to the hallway.

Soon, the room was empty until Izuka ran back in and turned off the video camera.

"We're good!" she called, signaling for the others to come back to the room.

The rest of the costume clad teens walked in and plopped themselves into the room's various chairs.

"Nice work everyone!" exclaimed Kankuro with a grin.

"Thanks, but sorry we had to gang up on you like that Phoenix." said Temari in apology.

"Don't be silly. It was actually kind of fun." said Hinata with a wave of her hand.

"I'll upload this right away, after I look at the Suna Square Harlem Shake video again." said Kankuro with a grin as he grabbed the camera from Izuka and placed it next to him. He then took up his laptop and clicked on his web browser.

"May we watch it with you?' asked Matsuri.

"All are welcomed." said Kankuro with a grin as he clicked on full screen.

Naruto, Matsuri, and Temari all went behind Kankuro to get a view of the video. Shikamaru, Izuka, Hinata, and Gaara all looked at each other curiously.

"What do we do now?" asked Hinata, breaking the silence.

"Wanna play cards?" asked Shikamaru with a smirk as he spoke in his fake Cajun accent.

"Why not?' said Gaara with a shrug.

'I'm game." said Izuka.

"Me too." answered Hinata as she observed Shikamaru shuffle his cards.

Thus, another end to a good day.

End of Chapter 14.

**A/N: Please review.**


	15. One Symbol, One Invasion

Chapter 15: One Symbol, One Invasion

It was currently night time as Izuka was sitting on her bed looking through an old journal she kept during her genin days.

"I know I wrote about that symbol somewhere." mumbled Izuka as she looked through the journal's pages.

"What are you talking about?"

Izuka looked up from the book to see Gaara standing in her bedroom doorway with his arms crossed. He was wearing a pair of black pajama pants with a dark green t-shirt.

"Remember the symbol of the tiger with the viper in its mouth that the bandits use to mark their attacks that was mentioned at today's council meeting?" asked Izuka as she continued to look through her journal.

"Yeah," answered Gaara as he walked over to Izuka's bed and took a seat next to her. "Have you seen it before?"

"I have actually," answered Izuka as she pointed to a particular page. "Here it is! I knew I wrote about it in this journal."

"What did you write?" asked Gaara as he raised an invisible eyebrow at the girl.

"I saw this when I went on an ANBU mission when I was 11. I was sent along with a few other ANBU members to guard a clan leader from a village near Konoha as he traveled to another town here in the Wind Country." explained Izuka as she put the journal back on her dresser.

"Did you see it during your travel?" asked Gaara as he observed Izuka's now troubled face.

"No it's not that Gaara. The clan whose leader I guarded has a tiger with a viper in its mouth as their family crest." said Izuka with the troubled look on her face more evident than ever.

"Do you think that the clan and the bandits are somehow connected to each other?" asked Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"Probably; a month after the mission, the clan was exiled by the Fire Daimyo for unspecified reasons. They were last spotted entering the Land of Wind before suddenly disappearing." answered Izuka as she got up from her bed and walked over to the window.

"But why would they come out now after five years of hiding and start attacking the trade caravans and that village?" asked Gaara as he walked over to Izuka.

"I don't know, but I do know a few people in the Konoha ANBU. If I can pull the right strings, I could get the file from that mission in at least three days." said Izuka with a slight yawn.

"It's a good start. Are you sleepy?" asked Gaara with a smirk as he turned to the Lady Sage.

"Nah, it's just a simple yawn. I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight." said Izuka with a shake of her head, but then she let out a yawn that was bigger than the first.

"Are you sure?" asked Gaara with an unsure smirk.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I don't think it's going to be one of those nights where Ryuna lets me sleep tonigh-" said Izuka, but cut herself off as she drifted to sleep. Gaara reached out and grabbed her before she could fall straight to floor.

"And you thought you weren't going to fall asleep tonight huh Izuka?" asked Gaara as he held a practically limp Izuka in his arms.

Izuka only let out a small snore, which Gaara slightly chuckled at.

"I can't let you sleep on the floor now can I?" said Gaara as he picked up the sleeping girl in his arms bridal style and walked her over to her bed. He moved the bed sheets out of the way, laid Izuka onto her bed, and draped the sheets over her body.

He moved to kiss her on her forehead, but Temari's voice interrupted his plan.

"GAARA!" she called him from downstairs.

"What?" asked Gaara as he moved away from Izuka and walked over to her bedroom door.

"Kankuro's attacking the cookies again! Get down here quick if you want to get some for yourself before Kankuro eats them all!" answered Temari as Gaara listened to her fading footsteps.

"Damn that Kankuro is a craven fool!" muttered Gaara to himself as he walked back into Izuka's room.

"Good night." whispered Gaara with a smirk on his face as he observed the sleeping girl. He walked out the room and closed the door with a small click.

Gaara quickly walked through the hallway, down the staircase, and through the living room to the kitchen to find Temari with a few cookies in her hand while Kankuro was caught red handed with his hand in the cookie jar eating away at the contents.

"Kankuro!" called Gaara in a cold voice to get his brother's attention.

Kankuro looked up while he had a cookie halfway in his mouth.

"Put the cookie jar down." commanded Gaara in a cold voice as he let his sand start to swirl around him threateningly.

Kankuro paled at the sight and gently set down the cookie jar before hightailing it out the back door. Gaara commanded his sand to leave him as he walked over to the cookie jar to retrieve a few cookies of his own.

"Nice job." commented Temari with a smirk as she bit into one of her cookies.

"Thank you. Where are the others?" asked Gaara as he walked over to her with his prize in hand.

"Naruto and Hinata are in the backyard checking out the stars, Matsuri went home for the night, and Shikamaru decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Where's Izuka?" asked the wind mistress as she finished off her last cookie.

"She's in her room fast asleep." answered Gaara as he sat on a nearby stool.

"I thought she was in there looking through her journal." said Temari as she leaned across the wall.

"That was before she fell asleep. She did find something though that pertains to the bandits." answered Gaara as he looked out the window.

"What'd she find?" asked Temari as she looked at her little brother curiously.

"Apparently on an old ANBU mission she went on when she was younger, Izuka guarded a clan leader whose clan's symbol is the same as the one that the bandits have been leaving after every attack." answered Gaara as he finished eating his cookies.

"What happened to the clan?"

"They were exiled from the Land of Fire by the Fire Daimyo and were last spotted entering the Land of Wind before disappearing. Izuka's going to pull a few strings for us by getting the mission file from the Leaf ANBU." answered Gaara as he walked to the fridge.

"That's a good start. When are Baki and Mibiku supposed to leave for the mission?" asked Temari as she walked over to the back door.

"They're leaving tonight." answered Gaara as he took out a juice jug from the fridge.

"Hopefully we can get some answers and solve this case before the festival is over." mumbled Temari as she took out two cups from the cupboard.

"Me too Temari," commented Gaara as he walked over to her. "Me too."

* * *

**Near the Western Gate of Sunagakure **

Mibiku, Baki, and their teams were all dressed in their ninja clothes and were walking to the border of Sunagakure for their missions.

"Those bandits have such bad timing." complained Mibiku as the group walked to the gate.

"Why you say that? Pissed that the bandits are attacking during the festival?" asked Baki with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"Exactly!" cried Mibiku.

"Don't worry Mibiku; the sooner we finish our missions, the sooner we can return back to Suna and to the festival." said Baki as he crossed his arms behind his back.

"That's true." cried Mibiku in defeat.

The group continued to walk in silence all the way to the gate, where they were in for a grisly surprise.

"My kami!" cried Mibiku in surprise as he took in the scene.

"I know!" cried Baki in anger as he looked on as well.

The jonin at their sides looked on in horror and disgust as they took in the sights of the guards of the western gate, all brutally bludgeoned to death. On the left side of the gate stood a familiar sight, a tiger with a viper in its mouth.

"One of you jonin send a message to the Kazekage and the Lady Sage," commanded Baki through clenched teeth. "Tell them that the bandits have invaded Suna."

End of chapter 15

**A/N: Please review.**

**Birthdays**

**April 7: Sado (Chad) Yasutora (Bleach)**


	16. Early Morning Meeting

Chapter 16: Early Morning Meeting

Everyone in the Sand Siblings' residence was fast asleep and in their respective dreamlands, except for Gaara, who was currently standing outside on the roof watching the moon as it started to disappear behind the clouds.

_I don't like this feeling I'm getting. Something is not right._ Gaara thought to himself as he continued to stare at the pale moon in the sky as it completely dissapeared from view.

"Lord Kazekage-san!"

Gaara turned around to see one of the jonin from Baki's team kneeling in front of him on one leg out of respect with a worried expression on his face.

"What is it?" Gaara asked him in a serious tone of voice as he crossed his arms. "Why haven't you left with your team?"

"Apologies my lord, but Captain Baki sent me to tell you and the Lady Sage an urgent message. The village has been infiltrated." explained the jonin as he got up from his position and did a small bow.

"What?" Gaara asked him as he raised an invisible eyebrow. _Looks like that bad feeling I got was right. Why is it always right? _he further thought.

"As we made our way to the village gate, we saw all the guards already dead, bludgeoned to death most likely. There was a symbol of tiger with a viper in its mouth painted on the gate's wall nearby." the jonin further explained as he spoke to Gaara with a neutral expression on his face, but the frantic edge was apparent in his tone.

"A tiger with a viper in its mouth you say?" Gaara asked him as he began to make the connection. The jonin nodded his head yes.

"So the bandits have invaded Suna," Gaara whispered to himself as he turned his back on the jonin to face the moon once again. "Send a message to all the council members that there will be an emergency council meeting at the Kazekage Tower in one hour. Return to your team after that task is completed. I will tell the Lady Sage the news myself." Gaara replied in a stoic tone of voice as he continued to face the moon, which reappeared in the sky.

"As you wish Lord Kazekage-san." the jonin replied before bowing once more and disappearing from sight.

Gaara let out a sight before making his way back inside the house through his bedroom window. He walked out of his room and walked over to Izuka's room down the hall like a silent cat. He carefully took hold of the doorknob, opened the door, and walked inside the room to find Izuka still sleeping on her bed without a care in the world apparent on her face.

_Sorry about this Izzy, but looks like your sleep is going to be cut short. _Gaara thought to himself as he began to gently shake the Sage awake. It took a good five minutes to pass by before one of Izuka's eyelids opened up.

"What do you want Gaara? Nights like these are rare for me and you of all people should know that." Izuka groaned in a tired tone as she opened up her other eye.

"I'm sorry for waking you Izuka, but we have urgent business to attend to." responded Gaara as he took a seat on Izuka's bed.

"Like what?" asked Izuka. "It's not like the bandits have invaded Suna during the night while we were sleeping." she mumbled as she started to sit up.

"They did." Gaara answered her bluntly as he crossed his arms.

This bit of news took Izuka by surprise as she suddenly whipped her head to look Gaara straight in the eye.

"What happened?" she asked him in her most serious tone, the Lady Sage side of her taking over.

"They infiltrated the village earlier in the night. Baki, Mibiku, and their teams found all the guards dead at the gate and the tiger with a viper in its mouth symbol painted on the gate wall nearby." Gaara explained to her as he faced the window.

"What do we do now?" Izuka asked him as she raised an eyebrow.

Gaara commanded some of his sand to pick up a spare robe that was lying on a chair nearby. He moved his arm, commanding the sand to hand her the robe. Izuka took it without any question.

"I've called for an emergency council meeting at the Kazekage Tower within one hour. Let's wake up my siblings and go." answered Gaara as he walked toward the door.

Izuka quickly put her robe on and followed Gaara out the door.

* * *

**Kazekage Tower; one hour later**

All the council members, except Baki and Mibiku, were sitting at the table of the meeting room waiting to hear why they were woken up at two in the morning. Most of them were still dressed in their sleepwear, some even wearing their bunny slippers instead of their regular ninja sandals like the rest of them.

"So Lord Gaara, why have you called for this meeting so early in the morning?" asked Elder Ebizo as he let out a yawn.

"What's the emergency?" asked a second council member as she fiddled with her hair out of boredom.

"The bandits have infiltrated Suna." Gaara announces bluntly, bringing everyone's attention back into focus.

"When in the world did this happen?" Temari asks in utter surprise as she wipes the sleep from her eyes.

"Just a few hours ago; Baki, Mibiku, and their teams found the guards at the gate all murdered with the tiger with a viper in its mouth symbol painted on the gate wall." Gaara further explained as he crossed his arms.

"This isn't good," commented Kankuro as he adjusted his nightcap. "Has there been any word of the bandits since then?"

'Not at all; apparently, they went into hiding after they infiltrated the village. They could be anywhere within Suna by now." answered Izuka as she looked out the window to watch the moon disappear behind the clouds.

"This is not good at all." commented Temari as she wove her fingers together. "What should we do?"

"Should we cancel the rest of the festival?" asked one of the council members as he gave an unsure look, not too certain on the idea himself.

The council went silent at his suggestion as they all gave each other worried looks. To tell you the truth, none of them wanted the festival to end on a sour note. They were al pretty much enjoying themselves so far. They all turned to Gaara to see what he had to say.

"We're not going to cancel the festival. We shouldn't let this group of bandits ruin the event," Gaara said for a start as he let out a tired sigh. "Not only would the citizens be disappointed, it would mean that the bandits know that we'll be looking for them which may speed up whatever plans they may have."

'That's a good point, but come morning, we will have no idea who could possibly be the bandits once they mix in with the crowd of costume revelers. It's practically the perfect time for them to have infiltrated the village." commented Kankuro as he let an angered look appear on his face.

"That's a very good point you're making Kankuro," Izuka said as she turned her attention back to the council members. "The bandits could have infiltrated the village at any time they wanted to, but chose to do so during the festival. This gives them the prime opportunity to walk around Suna virtually undetected if they wear costumes just like the citizens."

"But we can't cancel the festival now that we're so far into the event." added Ebizo as he gave the Lady Sage a sad nod of his head.

"You're right. All we can do is to tell all the ninjas to stay on high alert and watch for suspicious activity within the village. We have to get rid of this problem quickly and quietly." responded Gaara as he began to get up from his seat.

"I'll have all the jonin, chunnin, and gennin know about the situation come sunrise." said Temari as she too got up from her seat.

"I'll even let the students and senseis know. It doesn't hurt to have even the young ones help out too." added Izuka as she got up from her chair and walked over to one of the nearby window.

"Any questions?" asked Gaara as he looked around the table. No one said a word.

"Meeting adjourned." Gaara commanded as he stretched out his fingers.

Everyone nodded their heads and got up from their seats to make their way to the door. By the time everyone exited, Gaara and Izuka were the only ones still within the room. Gaara turned to Izuka to see that she was still at the window. He walked over to see that her gaze was trained directly at the moon.

"The moon's beautiful tonight isn't it?" Gaara asked at an attempt at conversation.

"Indeed it is. . . How did you do it?" Izuka suddenly asked him as she turned to face the redhead.

"Do what?" Gaara asked her, totally confused.

"When you were still Shukaku's jinchuriki, you always stared at the moon at night to keep you company. How did you do that on a daily basis?' Izuka asked him as she crossed her arms over her dark blue nightgown and matching robe.

Gaara let a small smirk appear on his face as he turned to face the moon. "When everyone hated me for being a jinchuriki, I turned to the moon for solace. The moon's calming effects helped to soothe the beast that is Shukaku. The moon was practically my only friend back in the past." Gaara answered in an even tone as he turned to face Izuka.

"I see; no wonder Shukaku always stay silent during the night these days, especially during the full moon." commented Izuka as she rubbed her right temple.

"You got that right," added Gaara as he took Izuka's hand in his own. "Let's go home shall we?"

"Let's" Izuka said in agreement as she let out a small yawn as Gaara guided her out of the room just as the moon disappeared behind the clouds.

**A/N: First of all Please review!**

**Second of all: Staring next chapter, I'm going to start to write from the perspectives of different characters for the rest of this story. Starting with Gaara! So watch out for that!**

**Birthdays:**

**May 1: Choji Akimichi (Naruto)**


	17. A Little Group Discussion

Chapter 17: A Little Group Discussion

_Gaara's POV_

The moon shines its heavenly light down on us as we walk out of the Kazekage Tower to start our journey back home. As we walk down the small staircase, Izuka and I notice Temari and Kankuro waiting for us at the bottom step.

"What took you two so long?" asks my elder brother as he adjusts his nightcap, which eerily looks similar to the cat hat he wears practically on a daily basis.

"We were just reminiscing on a few old memories." answers Izuka as she starts to comb out her long blonde hair with her fingers.

"Understandable, but can we please go home now. I want to sleep again before the sun rises." whines Kankuro as he begins to walk down the street.

"You do know you didn't need to wait for us to come down Kankuro. You and Temari could have just walked home by yourselves." I tell him as the rest of us follow the young puppeteer.

"He didn't want to walk by himself because he's scared. I told him I would wait for you two and he could go home on his own, but he absolutely refused." explains Temari with a smirk as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"I'm not scared!" yells Kankuro in annoyance. "I just think it's better if we walked as a group just in case the bandits could be watching us as we speak."

"Nice way to defend your reasoning, but I do sense a little despondence on your part Kankuro." replies Izuka, but she suddenly stops walking and turns her head to the direction of an alleyway on our left.

"Is there something wrong Izuka?" I ask her as I start to take a step forward to the Sage.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Just a stray cat." she tells us just as the cat walks out of the alleyway and down the street in the opposite direction.

"Good thing too. You almost gave Kankuro a heart attack a second ago." replies Temari with a slight chuckle.

"Stop laughing at me!" mumbles Kankuro as he starts to briskly walk ahead of us.

"Oh don't be such a baby Kankuro-kun." calls Temari as she runs after him.

"They seriously can act that childish can they?" asks Izuka as she walks over to my side.

"You seriously ask that after living with us for three years now?" I ask her as I begin to walk forward.

"Touché" she tells me as I hear her footsteps start up behind me as we continue to make our way home.

It takes only 15 minutes to walk the fifteen or so blocks back to our house in one of the wealthier districts of the village. We quickly enter the home and are soon met by Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata in the living room; all three of them with faces mixed with worry and suspicion.

"How long have you three been up?" asks Izuka as she takes a seat next to her brother on the couch.

"For a while now. Where have you four been?" asks Naruto as he raises an eyebrow at the rest of us.

"We've been at the Kazekage Tower attending an emergency meeting." answers Kankuro as he walks out the kitchen with a tub of chocolate ice cream in hand and a spoon in the other. I didn't even realize he even walked in there.

"You want to eat ice cream now?" asks Hinata shyly as she stars to twiddle her fingers.

"I can't help it. I eat when I worry." explains Kankuro as he takes a seat in the old recliner and starts to pig out on the sweet delicacy.

"And you wonder why we call you fat." mumbles Shikamaru as he looks out the window before Kankuro could send him a sharp look.

"Let me guess: The bandits were the topic of your emergency meeting weren't they?" asks Naruto as he starts to scratch his hair.

"Indeed; they have killed the guards at the village gate and have infiltrated the village." I tell them as I take a seat next to Izuka.

Hinata looks stunned as Naruto has an aghast look on his face while Shikamaru's lazy expression never changes at the news.

"This is very troublesome. With the festival going on throughout the whole month, those bandits can just easily wear a simple mask and costume to blend in with the villagers." replies Shikamaru as he starts to walk around the room.

"And we can't cancel the festival now since we're so far into the event. If we do, then the bandits will know we're on to them and may quicken their plans." adds Temari as she takes a seat at the other recliner.

"And the worst part is, we don't have a clue what their plans could be," whines Naruto as he crosses his arms. "Any guesses in what their plans could be?"

"We would have to consider whether the bandits are targeting the village as a whole or could possibly be targeting select people." suggest Hinata as she pulls her legs up to her chest.

"If that is the case, then anyone on the council could be a target, especially you two." replies Kankuro as he points to me and Izuka with his spoon.

"He does make a valid point," says Shikamaru as leans against the wall closest to the kitchen doorway. "Being the Kazekage of Sunagakure and the Sage of the Sixth Paths makes you two the biggest possible targets in the whole village, but that also means that you two are the most obvious targets. I don't think the bandits will go the most obvious route. Do we even have any idea how bandits infiltrated the village?"

"Not a clue." responds Temari with a heavy sigh as she leans into her seat.

"One thing's for sure: If they were able to burn down an entire town, then they must be a pretty big group." says Izuka with a small yawn as her eyes start to look sleepy again.

"Looks like little sis could use a nap!" replies Naruto in a sing song voice as he nudges his sister with his elbow.

"Shut up!" Izuka tells him as she starts to struggle to keep her eyes open.

"We all should go back to bed. We can continue to talk about this in the morning." comments Hinata as she stars to get up from her chair and walks over to the stairs.

"True that. It's been a troublesome night." adds Shikamaru as he walks to the stairs himself.

"Why do you like to say 'troublesome' so much?" asks Temari as she walks after her . . . boyfriend.

"Because I can." he tells her as he disappears from view.

"Well, that's enough ice cream for one day." replies Kankuro as he puts his spoon back into the tub.

"Kankuro, how much ice cream did you eat?" asks Naruto as he looks at the puppeteer.

"All of it." responds Kankuro meekly as he gets up from his seat and walks over to the kitchen.

"And you wonder why we call you fat." comments Naruto as he quickly gets off the couch and runs for the stairs just as Kankuro barrels out the kitchen after him with a pissed off expression on his face.

"YOU'RE DEAD NARUTO!" I hear my brother yells as he I hear his footsteps and Naruto's frantic ones go up the stairs.

"Well, that just leaves you and me Izuka." I say to the Sage next to me as I turn my attention to her. I let a small smirk appear on my lips as I see that Izuka has already fallen asleep and that the upper half of her body was lying on the couch while the lower half was hanging off the couch.

"Here we go again." I murmur to myself as I get up from my chair, pick Izuka up in my arms bridal style, and walk over to the stairs for the night.

**A/N: Please review!**


	18. Avengers Assemble!

**Guide: **Hello! – Normal Speaking

_Hello! – Telepathic speaking/Tailed beasts_ _speaking_

* * *

Chapter 18: Avengers Assemble!

_Izuka's POV_

I open my eyes to see bright rays of sunlight pass through the blinds hanging in front of my window. Looking around, I instantly notice that I'm back in my bedroom and not on the living room couch.

"Didn't I fell asleep on the couch?" I ask no one in particular as I sit up.

"_Gaara carried you in his arms and brought you back to your room bridal style. He wasn't too keen on letting you sleep on the couch for the rest on the night."_

"Why thank you for the explanation Rynua." I say with a smug smirk as I feel my chheks burn just a tad as I lift the purple bed sheets off my body and plant my feet on the ground.

"_Anytime, my dear jinchuriki."_ says the ten tailed dragon in my mind as I make my way to my bathroom.

"_Hey! She's our jinchuriki too Ryuna!" _whines Matatabi (2 tails) and Chomei (7 tails) as they eavesdrop on the conversation.

"_But I was here first you two, so I get first claim! Plus, I'm the eldest and the most powerful beast in this body!" _replies Ryuna with a bit of haughtiness in her tone as I walk over to the sink and grab my toothbrush.

"_No fair!"_ cry the younger tailed beasts. "_Izuka, do something!"_

"Look you three, you all make good points. Along with your brothers that reside within me, I'm the jinchuriki for all of you, but like Ryuna said, she was the first to be sealed within me and is also the eldest and most powerful by tail rank. You all just have to live with it." I tell them as I squirt some toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

"_Fine!" _replies Matatabi and Chomei in defeat while Ryuna lets out a small chuckle in satisfaction.

"_Girls . . ."_

"_SHUT UP GOKU!"_ I hear the female tailed beasts yell to the four tailed ape in retaliation as I start to brush my teeth.

I ignore them as I continue my daily cleansing ritual. After I've finished my shower and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, I walk out of the bathroom to find Gaara standing in my doorway, holding a small cardboard box.

"What costumes did Temari decide for us to wear today?" I ask curiously as I eye the box.

"The Avengers; I believe you're supposed to be Black Widow." Gaara answers me in his cool, monotonic voice as he picks up the red hourglass emblazoned belt that Black Widow is known to wear.

"Another day, another skin tight outfit," I mutter under my breath as I take the box from him and walk over to my bed.

"Don't worry about it. Once this month is over, we all will be officially free of costumes for another year. By the way, do you know what today's date is?" I hear the redhead ask me as I look through the contents of the box.

"October 5th I believe," I tell him as I take out the red wig I am supposed to wear with the outfit.

"Five more days till yours and Naruto's birthday" I hear Gaara whisper to himself, thanks to my acute hearing.

"Don't tell me you and the others are planning a party for me and Naruto." I say in slight agitation as I begin to wrap my hair up.

"I'm not actually. Temari, Matsuri, Kankuro, and Hinata are actually the main planning crew for your birthday. Shkikamaru and I are just the support staff that will handle the little things." Gaara answers me as he looks out my window.

"Gaara, you know how I feel about large parties." I mumble to him as I put on my bald cap.

"I know, I know. You're not the one for big parties, but it's inevitable now that you're the Sage of the Sixth Paths. You just have to grin and bear it." I hear Gaara say to me as I walk with my costume over to the bathroom.

"How big is the party anyway?" I ask him as I shut the door.

"Big enough that it will be held in the Grand Hall of the Kazekage Tower,"

I silently open the door and walk back out to show Gaara the scowl on my face.

"Mine and Naruto's seventeenth birthday party is going to be held in the Grand Hall of the Kazekage Tower?" I ask him, not meaning to have the cold edge in my voice.

"Yep; representatives from the Five Great Nations and some of the smaller countries will be there. Did I forget to mention that Temari has been planning your birthday celebration with the Council as well?" asks Gaara as he brushes a hand through his blood red hair.

"That piece of information never came up till now." I say rather snarky as I walk back into the bathroom.

"Like I said before: Just grin and bear it," he doesn't verbally say it, but I definitely hear the apology in his voice as I hear his footsteps leave the room.

As I get dressed in my costume, I start to get a tongue lashing from Ryuna.

"_My dear, you were so rude to that poor redhead."_

"I know. I feel bad about it alright? It's not his fault."

"_Of course not! It's his siblings', your friends', and the council's fault. They should be feeling your wrath, not your boyfriend."_

"I know that Ryuna, but still. Gaara should have at least tried to persuade them to plan something smaller." I tell her as I adjust the red wig on my head.

"_You share your birthday with your twin Naruto and knowing him, he wants a big celebration for you two's 17__th__ birthday. Besides, you two are well known around the ninja lands thanks to the war. This was bound to happen."_

"I can't argue with that reasoning," I say in defeat as I zip up the front of my costume. "How do I look?"

"_Impeccable" _answers Ryuna.

"_Fierce"_ replies Matatabi.

"_Absolutely amazing!"_ cries Chomei.

"_Do I get a say?"_ I hear Shukaku ask curiously as I feel his presence in my thoughts.

"_Absolutely not!"_ cry the female beasts. I hear Shukaku let out a yell of surprise as his presence leaves as fast as it appeared in my thoughts.

"Thanks guys." I tell them as I apply a little bit of gloss on my lips.

"_You're welcome. Now go out there and apologize to your boyfriend."_ Ryuna tells me with a sharp edge in her voice.

"I will, I will." I tell her in defeat as I walk out the bathroom. I grab the heels that went with the outfit and walked over to my door. I open it to find Gaara on the other side of it dressed as Hawkeye.

"Pink and purple actually suits you." I say in my best attempt at a Russian accent as I lean against the doorframe.

"Don't rub it in Izuka. By the way, nice fake Russian accent." replies Gaara as he adjusts the quiver on his back.

"Why thank you. It's Natalia or Black Widow okay? And I'm sorry for being so rude to you earlier. Big parties just get on my nerves sometimes." I tell him as I rub my arm.

"Especially when you're the center of attention?" Gaara asks me as he crosses his arms.

"Especially when you're the center of attention." I tell him with a slight roll of my arms.

"Don't worry about it. I felt the same way, especially when the council held the ball after I was officially made Kazekage." Gaara tells me as he looks down the hallway.

"But if I remember correctly, you didn't grin and bear it," I tell him with a small smirk. "You left after an hour and used a sand clone to stand in for you."

"You saw through my sand clone?" Gaara asks with a tiny hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Both me and Temari did; I'm just mad that I didn't think of using a clone myself." I tell him with a smirk as I walk past him out the door and to the stairs. We run into Matsuri, dressed as Wasp, at the top of them.

"Hey Black Widow! Hey Hawkeye! Do you know where She-Hulk put her camera?" she asks us politely as she puts on her gloves.

"It's in her room on the dresser." answers Gaara as he walks down the stairs, with me following after him.

"Greetings fellow warriors!" says Naruto as he twirls his fake hammer in his hand as we walk into the living room.

"Hello Thor! How's Asgard?" I ask him as I take a seat next to him on the living room couch.

"Asgard is doing well, my father is healthy, and my brother Loki is as crazy as a barrel of monkeys." Naruto tells me with a smile as he turns on the TV.

"HULK WANTS FOOD!"

"YOU'LL GET IT SOON BRUCE!"

"Looks like Hulk and She-Hulk are arguing again." comments Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"You have to love these family squabbles." replies Naruto as he continued to twirl around his fake Mjolnir. Temari (as She-Hulk) and Kankuro (as the Incredible Hulk) walked out of the kitchen, both with pissed off looks on their faces. Shikamaru walks out after them, dressed as Iron Man.

"What's going on here?" I ask in my fake Russian accent.

"Bruce here is getting impatient because he hasn't eaten breakfast yet." answers Temari as she scowls at the puppeteer.

"HULK WANTS FOOD NOW!"

"YOU'LL GET IT SOON DAMMIT!" Temari yells back as the two start to argue all over again.

"Aren't you hot in that suit?" asks Gaara as he turns to Shikamaru.

"I'll get used to it." responds Shikamaru as he taps his fist against his helmet.

"Where's Hinata?" Naruto wonders curiously as he looks around the room.

"Right here!"

We turn our heads to the staircase to see Matsuri and Hinata, dressed as the Scarlett Witch, walk over to us. I turn just in time to see Naruto's eyes widen as he takes in Hinata's look.

"Okay, so I'm Black Widow, Gaara's Hawkeye, Matsuri's Wasp, Kankuro's Hulk, Temari's She-Hulk, Shikamaru's Iron Man, Naruto's Thor, Hinata's Scarlett Witch . . ."

"And I'm Marvel Girl!"

I turn to the window to see Ryu dressed in a costume similar to what Marvel Girl wears in the comics, although it's more of a shirt than a leotard.

"Nice outfit Ms. Marvel!" says Matsuri as she walks toward the front door.

"Thank you and I'm out!" cries Ryu as she flies out the window.

"I better get going too. I have to meet with the Academy senseis today to warn them about the bandits."

"I'll go with you." Gaara answers rather qwuickly as he follows me to the front door.

"But the Tower and the Academy are in opposite directions. Are you sure?" I ask as I open the door.

"Anything to get me away from the bickering. Iron Man, you want to come too?" Gaara asks as we walk onto the porch.

"Do I ever?" Shikamaru asks as he runs rather quickly to join us. "One thing about She-Hulk is that she's always in a foul mood after a stupid argument."

"WHAT YOU CALL STUPID?"

"NOTHING! Let's go." mumbles Shikamaru hastily as he walks off the porch.

"_Only Temari can make Shikamaru run outside of a mission." _mumbles Gaara with his mind as he follows after the lazy ninja.

"_You said it." _I say in return as I follow, listening to the tailed beasts' snickering as I do.

**Please review!**


	19. Preparations

Chapter 19: Preparations

_Izuka's POV_

"I'm a bit worried Hawkeye."

"About what?" I turn to Gaara; his jade green eyes bore into mine through the pink mask he wears as Hawkeye.

"I'm worried about the genin. I saw it in their eyes. Some appeared spooked while others looked downright scared when we told them about the bandits." I say as I adjust the belt around my waist as we walk down the Academy hallway to my office.

"I saw it too, but I also saw that most of the genin had looks of confidence on their faces. The majority of the genin believe that you told them about the bandits because you trust them. Gaining a Sand nin's trust is a very hard thing to do, even when the nin is just a child." Gaara tells me as he crosses his arms, just as we reach my secretary's empty desk, my office just feet away.

"I guess you're right. When I first arrived here, the first place I was assigned to was here at the Academy as an aid to the senseis. It was a slow process, but somehow I was able to gain the senseis' good favor, and soon enough, the students' favor too, even though I was known as a monster. Hell, I wanted nothing to do with genin until I got here." I tell him as I unlock my door.

"But something changed you." Gaara says with a smirk as we walk into my office.

"All it took was one genin to talk to me and it all went uphill from there." I say with a small smile.

"What happened to the genin that first befriended you?" he asks me as he takes a look at a few of the plants I have throughout my room.

"I have no idea." I say for an answer as I look out my window, seeing the skyline of Sunagakure all around the building, the Kazekage Tower peeking out in the distance.

"Are you okay?" I hear Gaara ask me as he wraps his arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"I'm fine, but there is something bugging me ever since you told me about the planned birthday party for me and Naruto at the Kazekage Tower. Hawkeye, do you believe the bandits will target the party?" I ask as I turn around in Gaara's hold. Gaara begins to say something, but stops when he realizes how likely my suggestion may be.

"That may actually be possible." he tells me as he gives the question some thought in his mind.

"And this is why I don't like large birthday parties." I say as I get myself out of Gaara's hold and walk over to my desk.

"Well, we can't cancel it now Izzy. The invitations have all been sent out." counters Gaara as he walks over to my desk.

"The party will be attended by delegates from all Five Great Shinobi Nations, along with delegates from some of the smaller countries. Anyone of them, along with us and the Council members, are possible targets for the bandits." I say as I sit in my leather chair and go straight into my paper work.

"You are right. I'm going to go over to the tower and tell the others that your birthday celebration will need a lot of extra security." says Gaara as he opens one of the windows in the room, ready to jump out at any moment.

"Do you think that will be enough to stop the bandits?" I ask, a small hint of concern in my voice.

"Let's hope so. I'll see you later okay?" asks Gaara as he has one of his feet out the window. I easily feel his stare on me as he waits for my answer.

"See you later." I mutter as I go back to looking at my paperwork. I hear Gaara let out a slightly annoyed grunt. Before I could react, I hear Gaara's footsteps come closer to my position and I look up just in time to receive a quick peck on the cheek from the young Kazekage. He smirks at me before leaping out the window. I watch as Gaara runs over the nearby rooftops to the Kazekage Tower, smirking as he disappears from view.

* * *

_Normal POV_

**At the Kazekage Tower **

Temari and Kankuro were walking around the Tower's Grand Hall, overseeing the workers as they started work on decorating the room for Izuka's and Naruto's birthday party that was happening in the next few days. Gaara soon walked into the room and walked over to his siblings, who were standing in the middle of the dance floor watching the progress unfold.

"How are things going with the decorations so far?" asked Gaara as he crossed his arms at the two.

"It's been going well. I think it's safe to say that the theme of the party will be a costume party thanks to the festival. We were thinking more specifically a masquerade party, but with the bandits somewhere here in Suna, the costume party idea was considered the safer choice." answered Temari as she looked through her clipboard.

"Trouble with colors though." said Kankuro as he took a bite of his rice dumpling from his food tray in his hands.

"Yeah; we really were at each other's throats because we couldn't decide on a color scheme for the party. Kankuro and I wanted the color scheme to be orange and purple, you know, because Naruto wears a lot of orange and Izuka wears a lot of purple. But the council members wanted the colors to be red and blue." said Temari as she flipped a page on the clipboard.

"Red because it's the color of the Fire Country and blue because it's the color of the Wind Country?" asked Gaara as he raised an invisible eyebrow at the two.

"Exactly; leave it to the Council to make a fun event political. But, eventually, we were able to compromise." said Temari with a small smirk.

"Compromise meaning you were able to get your way." said Gaara matter of factly as he looked around the room.

"Yep, the color scheme will be orange and purple, but the Council made me promise them that I would include the color black because along with orange, they are the colors of Halloween and it is October after all." said Temari as she watched as two workers wrapped a nearby pillar in orange and black streamers.

"Understandable; Temari, Kankuro, make sure you have extra security at the party alright? I don't want the bandits to try and pull something at the event." said Gaara as he began to walk out the room.

"Yes Lord Kazekage." was all he heard as he walked through the entrance. Gaara continued to walk until he climbed up the stairwell to the floor where his office was located. He walked through the empty hallway and unlocked the door to his office. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. When he turned around, he let out a loud gasp as he looked at his window, vandalized by a picture of a tiger with a viper in its mouth, the bandits' symbol.

"They actually infiltrated my office?" asked Gaara as he walked over to the window. He soon realized he was wrong when he noticed that the picture was painted on the outside of the window. He looked out into the village and noticed a few kanjis painted on a nearby building, written in the same ink as the picture.

"We will strike when the time is right. Nothing more, nothing less. Beware." said Gaara as he read the writing on the building. He looked out into the village, the only thought in his mind?

Where could those bandits be hiding?

**Please review!**


	20. From a Kiss to a Warning

Chapter 20: From a Kiss to a Warning

_Normal POV_

"The bandits infiltrated your office?" asked Izuka as the two sat in the café that they had lunch at a few days earlier.

"Not exactly; the symbol was painted on the outside of the window. I found no traces of the bandits within the room." explained Gaara as he looked at his ginseng tea.

"Have you told anyone about it yet?" asked Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Only Temari, Kankuro, and Baki; Baki is already assigning extra security to the Tower, the Academy, and other federal buildings just to be safe." answered Gaara as he took a sip of his tea.

"I see; are you sure the party can't be canceled? To me, it seems to be the biggest target in the bandits' eye." said Izuka as she took a sip of her Sakura tea.

"I'm sorry Natalia. The invitations have already been sent out. It's too late to cancel, even though I do agree with the idea of canceling the party." said Gaara apologetically as he looked around the café, already filled to the brim with costumed patrons.

"You do?" asked Izuka in mild surprise as she eyes the Kazekage wearily.

"I don't like big parties as much as you do, but with our kind of lives, we just have to live with it." said Gaara as he finished his tea.

"I guess you're right." muttered Izuka in defeat as she looked up to see a waitress dressed like a robber.

"Are we done here?" asked the waitress in her girly voice as she shot a _'I'm so checking him out' _look at Gaara, making Izuka slightly grit her teeth in annoyance.

"Yes, we're done here." said Gaara as he took out his wallet and handed the waitress the money for the drinks. After, the waitress walked off, Izuka and Gaara walked out the café and onto the busy street.

"I saw what you did there." said Gaara with a small smirk as he stared at his girlfriend.

"What did I do Hawkeye?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow at the redhead, curious to what he was talking about.

"You gritted your teeth when you saw that waitress eyeing me back at the café," answered Gaara as he crossed his arms. "Seems to me like I'm not the only one who gets a little ticked off when people shoot looks at the person I'm dating."

"You must be imagining things." said Izuka as she crossed her arms and looked away from the young Kazekage.

"No, I saw you." said Gaara as the two turned onto an empty street filled with residential homes.

"No you did not." said Izuka bluntly as she looked away.

"Yes, I did." Gaara answered her in return.

"Hawkeye, you did not see me grit my teeth in that café!" said Izuka as she turned to him. Gaara took it as his opportunity to strike and pulled Izuka into a nearby dark alley when her eyes were closed for a second, taking her by surprise.

"Hawkeye, what are you planning?" asked Izuka as she stared at him wide eyed as he looked out the alley to see that the road was all clear of people. He turned around to face Izuka with a smile before answering.

"Admit it Natalia. You were a little irritated that the waitress was looking at me. You were jealous." said Gaara as he crossed his arms.

"Never!" said Izuka as she looked away, coming face to face with the wall in the process.

"Admit it." said Gaara as he wrapped his arms around Izuka's waist.

"I will never admit it Hawkeye." said Izuka as she stared at him right in the eye. "I will never say it. I will never say that I was jealous."

"Don't be so stubborn Natalia!" whispered Gaara as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Just admit that you were a tad annoyed with the waitress and I'll let you go. Or do you not want me to let you go?"

Izuka looked at him in mild surprise as she let the words sink in. Gaara didn't allow Izuka to utter her answered at once as he picked up her chin and kissed her on her lips. Izuka instantly succumbed as she wrapped her arms around Gaara's neck as the minutes passed. Gaara broke their kiss soon after and looked her straight in the eye. Izuka leaned her head in for seconds, but Gaara moved his head back so that their lips wouldn't connect. She tried again, but Gaara moved his head back, which was starting to annoy Izuka to no end.

"Fine, I admit it. I was a little miffed that the waitress was shooting you a look back at the café." said Izuka in defeat as she crossed her arms on Gaara's chest.

"Was that so hard to admit?" asked Gaara as he raised an invisible eyebrow.

"Yes" Izuka answered bluntly as she raised a blond eyebrow.

"Well I should at least give you something for your troubles." said Gaara with a small smirk as he leaned his head forward.

"Why thank you," said Izuka with a small smirk as their lips connected for another kiss, this one much longer and passionate than the first. Gaara weaved a hand into Izuka's red wig as he pushed her into the wall of an apartment building without breaking the kiss.

"Someone's getting bold." muttered Izuka as she broke the kiss, both her lips and Gaara's mere centimeters apart.

"I thought it would be a nice pre-17th birthday gift." said Gaara as he pulled Izuka away from the wall.

"Well, it was, but now you just got me curious. What did you get me for my 17th birthday?" asked Izuka as she smirked at him.

"I'm not saying anything till the night of the party. You'll just have to wait till then." answered Gaara as he held Izuka's hand in his and started to lead her out of the alley.

"But that's still five days away!" said Izuka a tad annoyed as she looked up at the sky.

"It's only five days. They'll go by in an instant if you don't think about it." advised Gaara as the two walked onto the street and turned to walk over to the main road.

"I'll try not to." said Izuka as she crossed her arms. "Anyway, I have to get back to the Academy. I have to teach a class of fire style users in a half hour."

"I'll see you back at the house then?" asked Gaara as he raised an invisible eyebrow at the girl.

"Sure thing! Bye!" called Izuka as she ran over to a building. She ran up the side; disappearing when she ran onto the roof. Gaara let a small smirk grace his lips before letting it disappear from his face as he walked onto the main road, walking in the direction of the Kazekage Tower.

Izuka, on the other hand, weaved her way across the building rooftops till she reached the Academy building's roof, instantly getting the attention of the ninjas guarding the rooftop.

"Lady Sage." said the ninjas in greeting as they all did a slight bow to her.

"At ease boys." said Izuka with a small smirk on her face as she walked over to the rooftop entrance. She descended the staircase until she reached the second floor indoor training grounds. She opened the door to see her students all sitting on a few benches on the side, all dressed in various costumes and talking amongst themselves.

"Hello class." said Izuka in a loud voice, gaining her class's attention in an instant.

"Hello Sensei Sage!" called the class in return, using the widely used Academy nickname for Izuka.

"Gather round everyone! It's time we got this class started." said Izuka as she gestured to the space around her. The class of fifteen did what they were told and walked over to the Lady Sage, stopping when they were at least two feet away from her.

"How about we start off with a little competition? The student that can maintain a flame above their open hand the longest will not have to run the obstacle course today." said Izuka as she pointed to the course near the room's far wall. The students looked eager to start and nod their heads at each other before nodding at Izuka.

"I see all of you are up to it. At the snap of my fingers, you may begin." said Izuka as she raised up her hand. "One . . . two . . . three!" at three, Izuka snapped her fingers to start the competition. All of the students closed their eyes and raised either their left or right hands in front them. They all used the same technique of concentrating all of their chakra to their palms. Soon enough, 15 orange red flames appeared , all of varying sizes as Izuka looked on with a smile on her face.

"Lady Sage! Lady Sage!"

Izuka turned around to see a sensei dressed as Catwoman run up to her with a serious expression on her face.

"Sensei Miki, what's wrong?" asked Izuka as she turned away from her students, all of whom were unfazed by the sudden intrusion.

"You have to see something in the cafeteria! It's the bandits' insignia. It''s drawn all around one of the walls." said Miki as she combed out her bushy looking black hair.

"I'll check it out. Stay here and watch the students for me." Izuka didn't wait for Miki's answer as she ran out the room. She ran all the way to the first floor cafeteria. She slowly walked into the room and was instantly met with the picture of the tiger with the viper in its mouth was largely drawn on the wall opposite her with a few kanji's drawn right under it.

"We're coming!" whispered Izuka as she looked at the kanjis with a critical eye. "This is not good."

**Please review!**


	21. Remembrance

Chapter 21: Remembrance

_Normal POV_

As the clock struck seven in the morning of October 10, the two elder Sand Siblings walked down the hallway of their home toward Gaara's bedroom. Temari opened the door to find Gaara hugging his pillow as he slept in his bed, perfectly content as the sunlight began to leak in through the window blinds. Temari and Kankuro crept into the room and walked over to his bed, making sure to not make a sound as they moved.

"Gaara? Gaara!" called Temari as she gently shook the redhead awake. Gaara's face scrunched up before his eyes blinked open.

"Why the hell did you two wake me up?" asked Gaara as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "And why are you two dressed like bank robbers?"

"We're dressed like mimes. We just haven't done our makeup yet." said Kankuro as he crossed his arms.

"You just saying 'we haven't done our makeup yet' does not surprise me." muttered Gaara as he sat up in his bed. "So why did you two wake me up?"

"Kankuro and I are going over to the Tower to oversee the final preparations for Izuka and Naruto's birthday. Matsuri, Hinata, and Shikamaru are going to keep Naruto occupied for the day while you will do the same with Izuka." explained Temari as she walked over to the door. "Your costumes for the day are in the living room, but I will be personally giving you your second costumes for the party later tonight okay?"

"Sure thing," said Gaara as he let out a yawn. "See you later."

"See ya!" said Kankuro with a wave of his hand as he followed Temari out the door. Gaara soon got out of his bed and walked over to his bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. When he was done with those morning tasks, he walked out of his room and over to Izuka's room. He knocked on the door, making it open on its own, and he peeked inside to see Izuka sleeping with the lower half of her body on her bed, while the upper half was hanging off it.

"Not again" said Gaara with a chuckle as he walked inside the room. He walked over to the precariously perched sleeping girl and looked down at her face to see that she was definitely fast asleep. He picked her up by her arms and brought her upper body back onto the bed, waking her up in the process.

"Gaara, why do you have your hands under my armpits?" asked Izuka as she opened her eyes, surprising Gaara as he held her up.

"You were hanging off your bed, so I decided to help you out." answered Gaara as he let Izuka go and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Oh . . . okay." said Izuka as she looked out her window, her gaze going straight to the tower.

"Happy birthday" said Gaara with a small smirk as he turned to the girl.

"Thanks" answered Izuka as she kept her stare at the mirror, but the look on Izuka's face told Gaara that she really wasn't in a festive mood.

"What's wrong Izzy?" asked Gaara as he wrapped an arm around her out of concern.

"I know it's my birthday and I should be in a festive mood . . . but there's such a glum aura around my birthday that I just can't get over at times." answered Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Glum aura . . . why do you say that?" asked Gara, curious to what Izuka had to say.

"I shouldn't be telling you this . . ." muttered Izuka as she looked Gaara in the eyes.

"I want to know. I won't judge you at all. I promise." said Gaara as he rubbed Izuka's arm comfortingly.

". . . Okay." mumbled Izuka as she sat up in Gaara's hold. "Do you remember the day you told me that your mother passed away the day you were born?"

Gaara shook his head yes for an answer. He quickly thought about that night back in the middle of the Chunnin Exams when they encountered each other in the Forest of Death. They were alone, both ditching their respective teams for a while, when they encountered each other near a small pond. Neither of them attacked the other and they ended up talking instead; Gaara talked about his early past and Izuka talked about her days training within the ANBU ranks. Now that he thought about it, Gaara realized that Izuka was actually the one person he was kinda nice to, even though his mission was to capture her.

"Well, on this day seventeen years ago, both of my parents passed away. It was the night that Kurama, the nine tailed fox, was controlled by Tobi and used to destroy the Leaf village. My father, the Yondaime Hokage, was successful in sealing Kurama within Naruto for the sake of the village, but Kurama didn't go in without a fight." Izuka explained as she got off the bed.

"How so?" asked Gaara, instantly curious and slightly eager to hear more.

"Kurama tried to kill Naruto when he realized that he was going to be sealed within him, but my parents stepped in the way before his claws could touch him. They died saving my brother." Izuka explained as she leaned beside the window.

"Where were you when all this was happening?" asked Gaara as he scratched his hair.

"I was nearby. Before Naruto, my mother was the nine tailed jinchuriki. After my mom Kushina gave birth to me and my brother, Tobi found us and managed to kidnap me and my mother. He took us to a secluded area near the Leaf and managed to seal Ryuna within me before extracting Kurama from my mother." Izuka further explained.

"How do you remember all of this?" Gaara asked in mild shock as he got up from his seat.

"I wasn't even awake when all of it went down. I actually ended up being one of those babies that fall asleep as soon as they exit their mothers' womb. Somehow, I was asleep for the sealing process, the whole attack on the Leaf, even my parents' death . . . but Ryuna wasn't. She was aware and awake for everything, even when she was sealed within me. I don't know how, but it's true. She told me about everything that happened a few years back when I was at the age where I could fully able to understand it at all." Izuka explained as she continued to look out the window.

"Wait a second. Wasn't Ryuna within the Land of Iron at the time?" Gaara asked, now remembering a little bit of the 10 tailed bat-dragon's history.

"She was, but Tobi managed to steal the case that she was held in without the samurais' noticing." answered Izuka as she closed her eyes. She opened them right back up when she felt the abrupt touch of Gaara's arms as they wrapped around her waist. She turned her head to see Gaara's head resting on her shoulder.

"Izuka, I never realized that happened to your parents. Before your story, all I really knew from that night was that the Fourth died protecting the Leaf. Hell, I didn't even know the Yondaime Hokage had a wife!" said Gaara in mild surprise, earning a small chuckle from Izuka.

"Well, considering the fact my mother came from a prized clan and almost completely extinct clan from Uzushiogakure, had very special chakra, and was the second ever nine tailed jinchuriki, I think it was a reasonable decision to keep my parents relationship a secret from everyone outside of Konoha." said Izuka as she leaned her head against his.

"That's a good point." said Gaara as he tightened his hold on Izuka's waist. "Izuka, I know this day contains a bad history for you, but you need to remember that what your parents did was to protect your village and your brother. It was probably their only choice. I bet they never wished for you guys to go through a bad childhood."

"I get what you're saying Gaara, and I'm proud that I'm their daughter. It's just really frustrating to know that I'll never see my parents because someone's actions took them away from me and Naruto." said Izuka as a tear slid down her face. Gaara kissed the tear away, before moving on to her lips, kissing her softly as another tear fell down her cheek.

"Hey . . .," said Gaara as he turned Amanda's body so that it faced his. "This may be a day of remembrance for you, but this is also a day of celebration. Everyone, including myself, care about you and we all want you to be happy today. Please don't be so sad." pleaded Gaara as he brought Izuka close for a hug. Izuka let out a deep sigh as she returned Gaara's hug, inwardly thankful that she had someone so understanding like him.

"Thank you Gaara," said Izuka as she broke their hug. "You're right . . . I shouldn't be so down. C'mon, let's go see what your sister has planned for us to wear today."

"Okay . . ." said Gaara as Izuka led him out of her room. "But I got to warn you,, because it's your birthday, Temari has decided to make us wear two costumes today, not just one."

Izuka let out a small groan, making Gaara chuckle, as the two made their way down the stairs to get their costumes for the day, but at night, the real festivities was going to take place, the good . . .

And the bad.

**Please review!**


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